Open Windows
by rgm0005
Summary: The door to Dukemon was closed…but Takato has many open windows to choose from.
1. First Window: Glory to the Demon Monster

Summary: The door to Dukemon was closed…but Takato has many open windows to choose from.

**Open Windows**

**First Window: Glory to the Demon Monster**

"D-damn it." Takato grunted at the pain. He had his arms extended, as if he were pushing against something. It must have been really heavy to hurt him like that.

But that was impossible; there was nothing there. The boy was pushing against empty air.

Wasn't he?

It seemed so, but things were not always what they seemed. Ahead of him, further down the street, two monsters clashed.

One was an impossibly huge Boar. He had three red horns and two monstrously huge tusks that were each capped with gold. His body was almost completely covered in shaggy brown fur.

The other was an enormous reptilian cyborg. He stood many stories tall, his upper body and jaw covered in machinery. If one looked at both him and the boy, they'd notice something strange.

They were in the exact same positions.

"MegaloGrowmon…!" The boy forced out. "Please…not another step back…!"

The red beast roared his agreement and together they strained against the beast.

But it was like pushing against a mountain. No matter how hard they tried, the result was the same.

The boy and the beast screamed with exertion and pain as they were pushed back. The boar buckled and twisted and pushed against them and they lost their grip on its tusks for just a moment.

But it was enough.

"Treasure Wheel!" The beast cried, opening his mouth.

Takato would have cursed if he had effort to spare.

He didn't.

He and his partner were well acquainted with this attack.

The Pig Deva would fire a ball of energy from his mouth, but it was more complicated than that.

Blue balls bind, red balls cause damage, and yellow balls can transport. The Pig also uses Green balls on himself; they seemed to heal him.

Takato wasn't sure which was more dangerous, but they all required focus.

No…that wasn't true. He knew which were the most dangerous.

Blue and Yellow.

When the Red balls hit, it hurts so bad. It feels like being burnt alive; he can feel his flesh burning, his blood boiling, his muscles twisting in pain…! It hurts so much that he wants to fall to his knees and thank God when it's over.

But that didn't matter.

Green could heal Vikaralamon's wounds. It couldn't be expressed in words…it felt like…to see all their hard work fade away like smoke before their very eyes!

But that didn't matter.

If they were knocked down, they'd just get back up. If their work disappeared, they'd just carve it into their enemy anew.

But Blue and Yellow…!

It was the same every time.

Blue would bind them, leave them open, trap them in one place. It was like their bodies turned to lead.

And Vikaralamon would just walk away. Like they didn't matter. Like they were nothing.

But that didn't matter.

Their pride was meaningless. It had been crushed to pieces long ago. What mattered was the city.

And the people in it.

Takato didn't look to the side of the road, where evidence of the Deva's destruction stood like a monument.

He didn't want to see the blood anymore.

He'd seen so much blood today; they were evacuating the city, but it was hard to do, especially with this damn Pig tearing up buildings and roads and everything else.

But they could struggle out of the Blue Wheels. It hurt, and it hurt more every time they did it, but they could. It felt like they were straining themselves until they broke, but…

But that didn't matter.

But those Yellow Wheel! They couldn't fight them. They'd swallow MegaloGrowmon up in a flash of light and put him on the other side of the city. He had his speed cards with him today, fortunately, so his partner always returned as quickly as possible, but…

It still took time.

And while he was gone, Takato was here. And he could do nothing but watch as the Deva tore up his city.

And he'd watched. He'd seen people die in pain, in fear, standing courageously, begging for their lives, crying, expressionless; he'd seen it all.

And then MegaloGrowmon would return. And a few people, just a few, would have time to run, shielded by the body of that beast.

He would never forget this day. Every death was like a brand; it'd stay with him forever, an eternal testament to his failure.

But that didn't matter.

Because…he'd managed to save a few lives today.

He could live with the shame.

But that didn't mean he'd let those two colors hit him again!

"Double Edge!" MegaloGrowmon cried, trying to interrupt the attack.

It didn't work. The Pig took the attack to his body instead, grunting, and then fired of his attack.

Takato felt fear grip his heart until he saw the color.

Red, he noted.

He didn't even have time to feel relief before it hit him.

Oh God, it hurt even more then the first time.

It was like someone had replaced his blood with boiling oil…!

It was like someone was carving him open…!

It was like something was eating him alive…!

When it faded, he'd fallen to his knees. Tears were running down his face, though he didn't remember crying.

It hurt so much. He wasn't sure he could go on.

He wanted to sleep so badly…

If he did, could anyone blame him? He'd been hurt so many times, he'd seen so many die, if he fell now, could anyone blame him?

Maybe they could…

But his friends wouldn't.

If he fell now, his friends wouldn't hate him.

His friends would never blame him for any of this.

But even if that's the case…

Because they would never blame him…

That's exactly why he doesn't want to give up.

They rise to their feet. It is an effort to do so, and he finds himself panting afterwards, but he stands.

Yes, without a doubt…

He wasn't strong enough. Maybe if the others were here…

But alone, he could not defeat Vikaralamon.

"B-b-but it do-do-doesn't matter." He forced himself to say. "S-stuff like that doesn't matter at all! MegaloGrowmon!"

His partner planted his feet and finished his Tamers sentence.

"No matter what, we will protect this city!"

**XxXXxX**

"Shit!" Ruki screamed as she felt something.

She'd seen Takato respond when Guilmon got hurt, but…it'd never happened to _her_ before!

"Kuh!" Jenrya stumbled back for the same reason.

That damn Monkey had Culumon!

And he was kicking their asses!

Galgomon fired his bullets and Kyuubimon launched fireball after fireball, but Makuramon either dodged or flat-out ignored them.

But then, maybe that was their fault. They'd be lying if they said they were focused on this battle.

They could see him.

Takato was fighting.

Makuramon had managed to lead them away from Shinjuku. Ruki had been the only one that could keep up with him and only by riding Kyuubimon and slashing a speed card.

But Jenrya had followed. He'd seen something that Ruki was ashamed of.

They were getting crushed.

The honest truth was that they were doing way worse against Makuramon then Takato was doing against that damn Pig.

At least they were an hour ago. Now…

Takato had been stuck fighting that thing for so long all alone. He'd managed to get to Perfect, but it was obvious that Deva was much stronger then this Monkey.

But he kept getting up. Again and again.

Ruki winced when MegaloGrowmon and Takato both screamed.

'Damn it, Takato. Why won't you run, or stay down, or something! If you keep at it like this…you're going to die!'

But she knew why.

He wouldn't run for the same reason she wouldn't.

But he was all alone. She at least had Jenrya for back up!

Of course, she knew she was the reason Takato didn't have back up. She'd seen Culumon get captured and she'd needed to do something. They'd all agreed about that; they wouldn't let one of their friends get taken away.

But that didn't make it any easier to watch Takato's life drain away on a TV screen while she was miles away.

'_Don't worry about me; save Culumon! I'll protect our city!'_

She cursed again as she remembered those words. He was keeping his word, but right now, she wasn't sure it was the city that needed protecting.

She needed to get to Perfect, somehow. Takato had done it after saying those words.

A thought struck her.

It couldn't be that simple, could it?

At this point, it didn't matter how unlikely it was. If it could save Takato, she'd at least try.

She drew a card with closed eyes.

"I want to protect my friend." She said to…herself? Or the card?

Either way, it didn't matter.

When she opened her eyes, the card was blue.

"Jen!" She shouted.

This needed to end.

First the monkey and then the pig.

But they were both dead.

**XxXXxX**

"Almost…there…gak-" Takato tried to finish but nearly toppled over.

Strangely, it wasn't exhaustion this time. He was now quite familiar with what falling down in exhaustion felt like and this wasn't it.

But-

"Ku…gah…ka…D-damn. What is…happening to us?" He murmured.

He was losing his equilibrium for some reason. It felt like the solidity of the world around his was fading away.

No…

It felt like he was the one that was fading away.

Those lights…!

"MegaloGrowmon, get out of the light!" He shouted.

"I…can't!" His partner replied.

He didn't understand. Lights had descended from the sky and fell upon his partner and then…!

He tried to remain standing but it was like trying to fight gravity.

He started to fall-

And was surprised when someone caught him.

"Jenrya's dad?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

The older man helped him stand. He was grateful, but…he was doing all this so people could have a chance to run. People heading towards the giant pig was sort of against the point.

"I could ask you the same question." He replied.

"I'm protecting my city." Takato told him. He already knew about Digimon, so it wasn't a problem.

"Yeah, I heard. A lot of people are going on about the Beast of Shinjuku coming to their rescue." Janyuu said. "But at this point, I think you need rescuing."

He was probably right. He felt like he'd gone twenty rounds with a Boar.

Mainly because he had. Well, twenty-three rounds, now, but…

He shook his head.

"I need to hold on a little bit longer. Just until Jenrya and Ruki get back." He said.

Janyu was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Takato looked at him in confusion, which he quickly regretted doing when that strange feeling hit him again.

"F-for what?"

"They're using Shaggai." Janyuu said.

He might as well have been speaking another language for all Takato understood him.

"What? Who are they? And what's Shaggai?"

"Hypnos." He said. "They're using Shaggai. It's a…program designed to exterminate Digital Life."

Takato was silent for a minute.

But then he chuckled.

"So that's it. Is this what it's like to be deleted?" He wondered.

Janyuu's grip on him tightened.

"I told them not to do this. I told them that it would affect your Digimon, too, but…not even I thought it would hurt you children as well!"

'Hurt us, too?' Takato wondered.

He'd been focused on his partner but…

That damn Pig was suffering the same fate.

He looked onward silently for a minute before replying.

"…It doesn't matter. All we wanted to do was protect the city. We were aware we might die trying to do that. If this thing…Shaggai…can do what we couldn't, then…that's fine." Takato said, closing his eyes as he smiled gently. "Yeah, that's fine."

He opened his eyes again.

"Lee-san, could you help me? I want to go see my partner."

Janyuu's grip had continued to tighten at his words and he seemed to be gritting his teeth.

But he didn't say anything. He just helped the child to his friend's side.

The stopped at the edge of the pillar of light. At least, Janyuu did. Takato stumbled out from under his hands and walked into the light.

"Ta…kato…" MegaloGrowmon said, extending one hand.

Takato took it, even though his entire hand couldn't even wrap around the tip of one of his partners fingers.

"I'm here." He said.

He had to close his eyes at a sudden light. When he opened them again, he saw what his hand had already told him.

His partner had devolved.

"I'm tired." Guilmon groaned.

Takato gently set his partner on the ground before lying down himself.

He never released his best friend's hand.

"Me, too, boy. It's okay, now. Let's just rest."

"…Okay."

The pair slowly closed their eyes.

They didn't open them when they heard Janyuu gasp.

If they had, they would have seen Makuramon throw his Treasure Orb into the warp hole of Shaggai.

They would have seen it change color.

They would have seen the pillars of light vanish, releasing Vikaralamon.

But they didn't.

Instead, Takato merely tightened his grip on his friend's hand in his sleep.

And a pillar of darkness rose from the Earth, as if in rebuke for the light that had fallen from the heavens earlier. It swallowed the Tamer and his Digimon, shrouding them from view.

In was only Janyuu, who stood at the edge of the darkness, that heard what happened next.

**MATRIX EVOLUTION**

**XxXXxX**

Ruki and Jenrya arrived the scene minutes later, thanks to some speed cards.

And as they did, they had to stop and look around in horrified awe.

The entire street was trashed. The buildings on both sides of it were completely destroyed. Not broken or damaged, but annihilated. Where they had once stood, the only remains left had the consistency of sand.

But it was the center of the street that drew the eye.

There was a crater some hundred meters in width. And it was deep, too. As they drew to the edge of it and looked down within, they both realized that it was as deep as it was wide.

Jenrya looked around quickly.

"Takato…where's Takato!" He asked, suddenly panicked.

"Over here." A voice interrupted his thoughts.

Jenrya turned towards the noise, mouth opened to ask questions and demand answers.

But it shut with a click as soon as he saw the owner of the voice.

"…Dad?" He asked confusedly.

Lee Janyuu didn't seem to match the area at all. While the street looked like it had just been bombs nonstop for days and the two Tamers looked beaten, Jenrya's father could have just walked out of as office building.

Except for one thing.

In his arms was something that could have been a teddy bear if not for the horns on its head. It also had strange teeth-like ridges on its head that partially circled it like a crown and some red marks that looked like something had scratched it.

But even with all that, it was adorable.

But that was not what drew the Tamers eyes. Instead, they focused on the chains that were wrapped around its body. They glowed with a misty aura, and was affixed to…

An egg shaped clock.

Ruki and Jenrya met each other's eyes, before returning to stare incredulously at the creature.

"Dad, what am I looking at?" Jenrya asked, momentarily putting aside his worry for his friend, though it was difficult.

They'd seen Takato and MegaloGrowmon get hit by the same light that had tried to get their partners as well. It seemed to hurt Megalogrowmon, which was why Jenrya was thankful Taomon had been there to shield Rapidmon. They'd seen someone, who they hadn't been able to identify at the time but who Jenrya now guessed was his dad, help Takato to his partner's side right before he devolved.

And then the lights had faded.

But that was the last thing they'd seen before the screens suddenly went stopped working.

But even if the screens hadn't worked, they'd still seen it. That pillar of darkness that reached into the sky…

They rushed over as soon as the lights were gone. The Monkey Deva had escaped and they'd both been kicking themselves for their failure, but…

What had happened here?

"I think…" Janyuu began. "I'm not completely sure, but I think…this is your friend Takato."

Ruki and Jenrya stared at him like he was insane.

**XxXXxX**

Ruki wondered how the hell she'd gotten dragged into this as she walked home.

She was carrying the creature that was quite possibly her fellow Tamer like it was a stuffed animal.

Her mother was going to get really weird if she saw her with this, but she supposed she'd deal with it. She'd already seen her with Culumon, after all…

Still…

She sighed. Why did she have to do this?

She'd asked Jenrya why he couldn't do it, but he'd quickly stammered out an excuse about his little sister and fates worth then death. Terriermon had immediately backed his Tamer upon.

She'd suggested Juri, but Jenrya had mentioned she'd be having enough trouble as it was. Apparently her wish had come true and she'd managed to partner up with Leomon, if only after Leomon had nearly died against Makuramon. On the down side, as partners go, Leomon was the hardest to hide. The fact that Juri lived with both of her parents and had a little brother only made the problem worse; Jenrya had a larger family, but he could just pass his partner off as a stuffed animal and be done with it, especially since most of his siblings were older than him and usually away from the house.

Ruki had to chuckle at the image of Juri trying to pass Leomon off as a stuffed animal.

She'd tried grasping at straws after that, mentioning Hirokazu and Kenta and then Takato's parents.

Jenrya had just looked at her.

"Yes, Ruki, let's talk to his parents. 'Hello, Matsuda-san. I'm sorry, but…I have bad news. Your son…is a stuffed animal. Here you go.'" He said. "We'll have to think of something to tell them if we can't turn Takato back quickly. We might have to tell them that, but we at least need some way to prove it. And, like Hirokazu and Kenta, they don't have partners, meaning that if something went horribly wrong, any help would be far away."

Ruki had reluctantly agreed after that.

It's not like it was forever. Hopefully, it wouldn't even be for long.

They'd agreed. They needed to go to the Digital World and find Culumon. The problem was…

They had no idea how to get to the Digital World.

Jenrya said he would work on it with his father, leaving Ruki to babysit. At least Katou had promised to help…

Well, actually Ruki had asked her to, in an attempt to snap her out of the guilt she was feeling for losing Culumon.

Ruki sighed, coming to a stop in front of her house. The lights were on, so her family was in.

"Renamon, take Takato to my room, please." She asked the darkness.

"As you wish, Ruki." He partner's voice replied, seemingly coming from nowhere.

Ruki didn't so much as see her leave as she suddenly felt like she was alone. The fact that the creature she'd been carrying in her arms was now gone probably had something to do with it.

She closed her eyes and silently prepared herself for what was to come. No doubt her mother would be worried since she hadn't seen her when everything in the city was going to hell.

But even so, though she wouldn't admit it…

That was fine, too. For just a few days, it was fine.

Because soon she'd have to leave for another world.

And she couldn't say what she would find there.

**XxXXxX**

"So, what do we do?" Ruki asked impatiently the next day.

All the Tamers, plus Hirokazu and Kenta, had gathered by Guilmon's shed. She wasn't completely sure how it had happened, but it had become the unofficial meeting spot of the Tamers.

They were, supposedly, here to talk about getting to the Digital World. Having said that, if she hadn't know that it was Jenrya who'd called the meeting, she would have thought it was just a cover story to allow Takato's friend to see what he'd become. As it was, only she and Jenrya were really talking about the issue; Juri, Hirokazu, and Kenta were huddled around the new Takato who was breathing peacefully.

"H-he's so cute!" Juri squeaked.

Hirokazu just shook his head forlornly.

"Poor Takato. He saved the city and his only reward is being turned into a stuffed animal."

"I think you're looking at this the wrong way, Hirokazu." Terriermon chimed in. "Look at the way Juri's mooning over him."

Hirokazu's expression brightened even as Juri pulled away and blushed.

"Oh, good point!"

"I bet if we weren't hiding him, he'd be swimming in women." Kenta said thoughtfully.

"Being held in feminine arms-" Terriermon said suggestively.

"Clutched to chests-" Kenta added, getting into it.

"Hey, do you think Ruki's effected?" Hirokazu interrupted.

The others apparently hadn't thought about that, and the three of them looked towards Ruki as one. Even Juri was looking at her shyly.

Ruki firmly quashed the urge for violence and took control of the situation.

"Okay, you know what? Enough about Takato?" She said, marching over and taking him from Juri's arms. "We need to focus on how to get to the Digital World. I'm putting him in the shed; let him sleep."

She walked up the stairs and placed him inside it, making sure he was away from the hole Guilmon had dug, and turned around.

"Renamon, keep an eye on him."

"Yes, Ruki."

Ruki began to stalk down the stairs, opening her mouth to say something else, only to be interrupted as Renamon grabbed her and bounded down the stairs.

"What…?" Ruki began to ask, only for a thunderous explosion to cut her off.

Someone, Juri, screamed, but Leomon was nearby, so she wasn't worried about her or the duo, but-

"Terriermon, shinka!"

Jenrya would be okay, too, then, but that still left-

"Takato!" Ruki said, squirming in her partner's arms. Renamon only tightened her hold as some sort of shockwave hit her.

There was screaming and yelling, but Ruki couldn't see where it was coming from or from who. She could see what had caused the explosion, either, at least not until Renamon let her go. Then she saw the source-

Ruki froze.

The entire top of the hill had been blown off.

She glanced around, confirming that the others were safe, before running up the stairs. She had to slow down half way to the remains of the shed, as the stairs quickly became cracked and broken, but she slowly made her way there.

"Takato! Damn it, where are you!" She said, scanning the area. She heard the others coming up behind her, but paid them no mind. She couldn't see very well through the lingering dust and smoke, but was that…?

She had to move slowly since she was basically walking blind, but she reached what she saw as quickly as she could.

"There you are! I can't believe you're causing trouble when you're not even conscious!" She said, but her tone gave away her relief.

She picked him up and was about to turn away when a stray breeze moved the dust and smoke ever so slightly, letting her glance something that stopped her.

"G-guys…Guys! Get over here! You have to see this!" She suddenly shouted before coughing as she inhaled some dust.

A Digital Gate – no, more like a tear in reality, hovered in the air.

She squeezed Takato a little tighter as her coughing died down.

"Well…" She whispered. "That solves one problem."

**XxXXxX**

It figures this would happen, Ruki thought as she stared at Beelzebumon.

They'd made it to the Digital World and it had just been one thing after another. The Deva's had attacked, Ryou had come and gone, the group had been separated by pillars of Pink Light, and she'd had to carry Takato the entire time.

And finally, Impmon shows up.

And he's been taking steroids or something, because he was a monster now, she thought as Beelzebumon hit Kyuubimon in the stomach. Ruki kneeled over in response, feeling the pain as well. She accidentally squeezed Takato in the process, electing a squeak.

She grits her teeth and forced her arms to relax, not wanting to hurt her friend.

Even so, now would be a really good time for him to wake up, damn it!

Kyuubimon was a bad choice to fight Beelzebumon, but they hadn't really had a choice; the guy had come out of nowhere to rage on them and she hadn't had a chance to do any card slashing between the constant blows.

He'd literally fell out of the sky. Ruki was ninety-nine point nine percent sure that was a sign that someone hated her.

Still, she had no choice but to endure it. That was the plan; Ruki and Renamon would get the shit beaten out of them in order to cover Jenrya while he evolved Terriermon to Ultimate.

Beelzebumon kicked Kyuubimon across the face and Ruki was forced to wonder how long it took to slash a fucking card as lights sprang up in her vision.

"Rapidmon!"

Finally, she thought.

Beelzebumon glanced their way and noticed Rapidmon. He silently picked up Kyuubimon, who was struggling to stand, and tossed her away. Ruki flinched as Kyuubimon hit the ground, but it was better then still being in Beelzebumon's melee range.

"Hmph." The confident Demon Lord uttered dismissively. "This is going to be way too easy."

"Don't underestimate me!" Rapidmon said, vanishing in an instant. "Rapid Fire!"

The voice came from above her, but Ruki had to shut her eyes when the missiles exploded, so she didn't know where.

"That didn't even tickle." Beelzebumon said as the smoke began to clear. He hadn't even dodged; he'd taken the missiles full force and brushed them off. "Disappear, insect."

He fired his gun only twice and though Ruki couldn't see the bullets, she realized they must have traveled fast indeed since Rapidmon couldn't dodge either shot.

As Jenya's partner fell screaming from the sky, Ruki cursed. Of all the times to be separated from the others.

Takato shifted in her arms and Ruki suddenly stiffened.

"Jenrya!" She shouted. "It's Takato!"

"Damn it! Of all times!" Jenrya replied. "Rapidmon, are you okay?"

Rapidmon forced himself to his feet, fearful understanding giving him speed.

"I'm okay enough not to want to stay here!" He said, grabbing Jenrya before blurring to Ruki's side.

The female Tamer set Takato down as quickly as possible and let Rapidmon take her away. Hands free, she quickly grabbed a Digivice and a random card.

It instantly glowed blue.

"Card Slash!"

"Kyuubimon, shinka!"

Beelzebumon had quickly realized something was up, though their actions didn't make sense. Even so, the introduction of the familiar Taomon was enough to put him on guard even if he wasn't super worried about it and he quickly lifted his gun at her-

To find that she'd disappeared.

His third eye had tracked Rapidmon's movements, though, and his other gun was already pointed at him-

And then Takato yawned.

Taomon's hum coincided perfectly with Beelzebumon's expression of surprised. Sadly, he didn't have a magical shield to defend himself.

Even more sadly, he didn't really need one.

The Demon Lord picked himself up off the ground with a groan. That had actually hurt.

But he was an Ultimate and he wouldn't go down that easily.

Even so, he frowned as he noticed something. The air around that stuffed animal was…cracking?

Yes, cracking was the best word for it, for a moment later it shattered like a wall of glass.

And through the jagged-edged portal, Beelzebumon could see…a desert?

Yes, the desert and several figures.

"Well…" He said at last. "This is convenient. Now I don't have to hunt you all down."

He lifted his gun again, this time at Juri, Hirokazu, and Kenta.

**XxXXxX**

The others interfered, but at the end of the day there are things that simply won't change. And one of them is 'No ordinary Perfect could fight an Ultimate.' Rapidmon's speed and Taomon's barriers served them as well as they could have hoped to, prolonging the fight further then it should have lasted. But…

Taomon crashed back to the ground, reverting back into Renamon. Rapidmon had fallen first, likely a consequence of the wounds he'd received earlier.

"Renamon!" Ruki shouted, clinching her Digivice in a viselike grasp. Though she'd recovered Takato, she'd quickly passed him off to Juri; it went without saying that, as one of the two Tamers with a Perfect level Digimon, she would be of better use on the battlefield. "Run!"

She knew her words were futile, though; Renamon was in no shape to run and they all knew it.

Beelzebumon knew it, too.

"This arrogant fox…" He began, looking down at his fallen opponent in displeasure. "Making me look like an idiot; do you think I'll just forgive you!"

He'd won fairly easily, but he'd taken a number of minor wounds. Most of them did little more than sting distractingly, but…

"I-Impmon…" Renamon forced out.

"Shut up!" Beelzebumon suddenly shouted. If there was one thing he absolutely didn't want to hear, it was that name.

He kicked her, then; hard in the side. She didn't even have the strength to cry out.

"_What can I do?"_ Ruki thought frantically, flipping through her cards quickly. She was quite aware of the fact that she didn't have any cards that would let a half-dead Child beat an Ultimate, but she searched through them anyway. _"What card should I use? What should I do, Renamon!"_

Beelzebumon didn't draw any pleasure from kicking an enemy too weak to even fight back and decided to put an end to this.

"I…I'll kill you right here, Renamon!" He said, flexing his claws.

And at the last moment, Renamon mustered what little strength she had left and spoke.

"Open…your eyes…"

"Shut up, shut up! Shut up and die, Renamon!"

Beelzebumon's clawed hand fell like an executioner's blade.

And stopped mere inches away from its target.

Beelzebumon looked at the owner of the hand that stopped him, shocked and annoyed at being thwarted.

Leomon.

Ruki opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say. She was grateful that he'd saved her partner, but…

An uninjured Adult maybe stronger then a beaten Child, but against an Ultimate, the deference remains something that can't be seen with the naked eye, is how she felt.

"I don't know you…" Leomon said. "But all you seem to do is follow orders. You're only making a fool of yourself…Beelzebumon!"

Beelzebumon was like a brick wall against which his words fell lifelessly against, to the point that you couldn't even tell if he'd heard him at all.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded.

Leomon replied with his fists, taking him across the face with a right punch and then a left.

If words didn't work, then this was the only way…!

"Strength has nothing to do with evolution. That is something I have learnt." Leomon said. The others were watching him silently and he knew what they were thinking. That he must have lost his mind; that he had no idea what he was doing.

But he knew. He knew he was probably going to die now.

But sometimes, there are things one just has to do, regardless of the cost, and protecting ones allies was one of them.

The only thing he would regret was the pain he was going to cause his friends…

To Juri…

He looked at her for what could be the last time, trying to communicate without words that he was sorry. Trying to tell her what he was about to do; what he had to do.

"L-Leomon." She whispered, as if in pain.

Perhaps she understood.

"I will not allow you to kill these children." He swore.

Beelzebumon, basically unharmed by his attacks, was nonetheless enraged.

"Shut up!" He shouted, blurring in motion.

And in an instant, Leomon had a hole in his chest. Beelzebumon had impaled him upon his arm.

For a moment, he wasn't sure what happened. But realization was communicated to him in the form of pain and he screamed as he fell.

Renamon forced herself to get up, but Beelzebumon kicked her back down without even a glance.

"Renamon!" Ruki shouted.

"Why…don't you understand…?" Leomon asked weakly as he began to fade. "Why do you refuse to listen…?"

Juri had watched it happened from start to finish but couldn't believe it. She shook her head as if by doing so she could shake away Reality like a bad dream. She tried to force out words; her partner's name! But…all that came out were ragged, breathless noises. She squeezed Takato in her arms, holding him tight even as he began to shift uncomfortably.

"H-he…he killed Leomon…" Hirokazu said, disbelief coloring his tone.

"R-run away…! We have to run away!" Kenta said, closing his eyes in an attempt to ward away the truth.

"Leomon…" Jenrya said, holding his younger sister tightly and covering her eyes. "Damn it…!"

And Leomon…

Said his last words, wonderingly.

"This…might be my fate…" He said, acceptingly. "I am sorry…Juri."

She'd tried to hold back her tears, but as the last of her partner's body faded into data and the light of her Digivice faded, she failed in her struggle and her tears began to fall.

"N-no!" She screamed. "Leomon! Please!"

And as her tears fell upon the unconscious Takato…

An alarm clock began to ring.

**XxXXxX**

"Ah…" The sleeping boy murmured.

An eye slowly opened.

Where was he? He didn't remember. It was dark, though…was it nighttime? Ah, of course it was; he was asleep, after all. He wouldn't sleep during the day. If he did…he'd be scolded.

By who?

The boy tried to remember but it was hard. He was so tired…who would be upset if he slept during the day?

Ara, that's right…his mother would get upset because…yeah, because he'd be late for school.

But it didn't matter, since it was still dark out. School shouldn't have started yet, so he shouldn't be late. Besides, he wouldn't over sleep. That what he set his alarm for.

Alarm?

The eye that was slowly closing opened again.

His alarm clock was ringing. That meant it was time to get up.

"Guilmon?" He mumbled. "Where are you?"

Damn it…he couldn't see because it was so dark.

"Mmph." He heard his partner reply. He was still asleep?

"Ah…I'm sorry…did I wake you, boy?" He asked tiredly.

"Ugh…what's that noise, Takato?" His partner asked.

"It's just the alarm, Guilmon; gimme a second." Takato replied, reaching over the where the clock by his bed was kept.

He didn't feel anything there. Not the alarm, not the table, nothing.

"Wha…?" He asked, blinking his eyes.

He looked around him again. It was indeed dark, but…this wasn't the darkness of night, was it?

No; or at least, it wasn't the night he'd see from his bedroom. No matter how dark it got, he should have been able to see his alarm clock's screen. And…why was it so quiet? He could hear his alarm, but…where was all the other noise? He lived right in front of a busy street; if it was time for him to get up, he should be able to hear other sounds.

In fact, shouldn't his parents be up? Shouldn't they be in the bakery? Shouldn't his mother be calling him to tell him to turn off his alarm?

And…was that the sound his Alarm clock made? It was _an_ alarm, but was it _his_?

Wait, wait, wait.

"Guilmon? What are you doing in my room? Wait…this isn't my room! Guilmon, where are we?" The boy asked, suddenly panicking.

No…It wasn't just that they weren't in his room…they weren't in a room at all! They were floating in the Darkness as if they were flying. But…!

Wait, they?

"Guilmon? Where are you, boy?"

Despite the darkness, it wasn't that he couldn't see; though it didn't make sense, he could see himself just fine! But he couldn't see anything else! Where was Guilmon?

"Takato? Takato! I can't see you! Where are you?"

"Use your nose, boy!"

If there was something he could rely on no matter what, it was Guilmon's nose!

"I smell…Juri. And Ruki and Kenta and Hirokazu. And, um, Jen. And…Terriermon? And Renamon! And, uh, Impmon and Leomon – wait! Where is Leomon going? Leomon's going away!"

"We'll find Leomon later; I promise. But what about me, Guilmon?"

"…Takato…I don't smell you at all."

"…What? Guilmon, I'm right here! Follow the sound of my voice!"

"I-I-I can't! I can't move! Takato!"

"Guilmon!" Takato tried to follow his voice instead, but it seemed to be coming from all around him. "Damn it! Jenrya! Ruki! Juri! Anybody! You're there, right! Help me! Please, help me! Leomon, come back; I need your help!"

And suddenly, a dam broke and voices flooded in.

"_Renamon!"_ Ruki's voice.

"Ruki? Is that you? What's happening? What happened to Renamon?" He asked.

"_Why…don't you understand…? Why do you refuse to listen…?"_ Leomon…

"What? Who? Who refuses to listen? Leomon!"

"_H-he…he killed Leomon…"_ Hirokazu…

"…What?" Takato asked, stunned. "He…what? He killed…Leomon? Who!"

"_R-run away…! We have to run away!"_ Kenta…

"Run away from what? Kenta, where are you! I come right away, just tell me where you are!"

"_Leomon…Damn it…!"_ Jenrya…

"Jen! Please, help me! I-I'll save Leomon, I promise, just tell me where you are!"

"_This…might be my fate…I am sorry…Juri." _Leomon…but…his voice was so weak…

"N-no. Leomon, hold on! I-I'll do something, just hold on for a little while longer!"

"_N-no! Leomon! Please!"_

That voice…that voice filled with so much pain…that was…

"Juri!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, but it was like his words couldn't reach them.

"Takato!" Guilmon shouted back. "What's going on? What's happening to Leomon? Where is everybody? I – agh!"

Takato didn't have to ask what cut him off; he heard it to.

"Ah! Stop, stop, stop; damn it, stop it right now!" Takato screamed.

It was getting louder and louder. The ringing of his alarm…it hurt! It was so loud it hurt! It felt like his ears were bleeding!

Their friends screamed in pain and fear and they screamed with them. He covered his ears but it did no good; the sound only got louder and louder.

And finally…

When he thought he could take no more…

He screamed again.

"**I'M UP**!"

**XxXXxX**

The creature that was Takato opened his eyes at last, the insistent ringing and the screams of his friends finally awakening him from his slumber. As they opened, they glowed a hellish red, revealing their owners displeasure to the world.

He didn't like what he saw.

Some strange Digimon was loading a cloud of data. He didn't recognize the Digimon consciously, but his instincts told him it was 'Beelzebumon.'

He would have questioned that knowledge but the rest of the situation distracted him.

By Beelzebumon's feet lay a prone Digimon. It took him a moment to recognize Renamon she was so badly beaten. Terriermon was on the ground some distance away; he didn't seem to be as badly beaten as Ruki's partner but he was by no means in good shape. His friends were scared, he could see; they were shying away from Beelzebumon.

He focused on him, then, certain of everything important.

The man was the enemy.

That was all he needed to know.

The chains the bound him and held the clock fast suddenly snapped. Juri was forced to drop him and stumble back as his small body began to grow immensely. He round face quickly narrowed out into an animalistic muzzle as he grew, his ears narrowing to points, his horns thickening into powerful curves of bone. He grew six enormous wings, each bat-like and bound at the joint by a length of chain. And finally, his round body changed; the soft expanse of his stuffed animal-like body gave way to powerful, furred muscle. His stomach changed, revealing chiseled abs and a chest with a red, bat-like tattoo. He grew two huge arms that were each connected to his shoulders by strong, clawed hands and around each bicep curled a golden ring. Each forearm was wrapped tightly by lengths of chain and the back of each hand was covered by a golden glove. He had a thumb of pure flesh on each hand, but all of his other fingers had been sheathed in claws of glowing energy. His tiny, childish legs grew as well; around his right thigh curled another length of chain while a pair of leather belts curled around the other. The soles of his clawed feet were wrapped in bandages.

Belphemon Rage Mode took his first breath.

"Who the hell are you?" Beelzebumon demanded, frowning at this new arrival.

Belphemon had nothing to say to someone he was going to eat and simply attacked. Some instinct told him not to roar, no matter how much he wished too. He felt that if he did, his…friends? His friends would suffer for it.

But he had more than one way to crush a bug.

"Lampranthus!"

Dark flames bellowed forth from the chains about his body, rivers of fire for his enemy.

He didn't really understand what was going on, but his instincts guided him. And they told him one thing for sure; when his clock started ringing, it meant someone had to die.

The flames washed forward, reducing the ground into particles of data. Beelzebumon was surprised by the sudden appearance of a new enemy, but he knew that there were times to shelve questions and 'when an enormous Digimon is trying to kill you' was one of them.

He leapt into the air in an attempt to avoid the flames.

Belphemon huffed out a breath, muzzle stretching into a toothy smile.

That was fine with him; he'd just flood the area with flames. He can burn to ashes when he gets down.

"Lampranthus!"

This time, the amount of flames called forth was far greater; the previous attack was like a candle flame compared to this inferno. They washed over the earth like a tsunami; everything to the horizon was covered in the evil fires.

Everything except the small, yellow fox-like humanoid and the ground around her; a five meter by five meter area was clear of the flames. Even the heat from them was held back by his will.

But that left a weak point in the attack and Belphemon knew it. If Beelzebumon could adjust his trajectory in mid-air and head towards the spot left open, he'd be able to avoid the attack.

More importantly, the Renamon would be in danger.

But there were ways of dealing with things like that, he knew.

He narrowed his eyes and watched for Beelzebumon's reaction.

Sure enough, he noticed the opening. He twisted his body like an acrobat and even seemed to lose his momentum in midair; some application of power, perhaps.

Regardless of the reason, he was heading towards Renamon, now. Belphemon quickly estimated his remaining hang time.

Given the power of the original jump, the original direction of movement, the time required for Belphemon to attack, the time required for that attack to take effect, and Beelzebumon's own actions in midair, the remaining time was approximately…

Three seconds?

No problem.

LEVEL: 666. SYSTEM: BELPHEGOR. CODE: SLOTH.

Two concentric Indigo circles drew themselves into existence at his feet. In the space between them, Belphemon's thoughts repeated themselves twice. At the bottom of the inner circle, two symbols appeared; the symbol representing Sloth and the symbol representing Mars. At the bottom of the circle, the words 'CAUTION! PURGATORY LEVEL 4' was written.

Belphemon's animalistic smile widened.

"Sloth!" He cried.

A wave of light expanded outward from the symbol, growing to tinge the whole area Indigo. And in that colored world…

Everything stopped. The flames had stopped amidst their own flickering and Beelzebumon hung in the air. Around him, the other Digimon and their human partners had stopped mid-motion.

Time itself had stopped moving.

Except for Belphemon.

The Demon Lord of Sloth gave another chuffing laugh.

And then he leapt into the air.

He was level with Beelzebumon in moments and he took a 'second' to enjoy the Demon Lord of Gluttony's expression. It was nearly blank, showing no signs of fear or nervousness. His focus of concentrated completely on Renamon and the safety around her.

He had no idea what was about to happen to him.

It was with no small amount of glee that Belphemon swung a single, massive hand at his opponent.

Beelzebumon moved only a few meters before stopping in midair. As with all things he did while time was stopped, immediate reactions were limited. Attacks he fired stopped some distance away from him; enemies he threw away stopped after a short distance.

But that was only while time was stopped.

Suddenly, the Indigo tainted world faded away. The fires started flickering again and the Tamers and Digimon began to scream and move again, neither of which he paid any heed.

He had eyes only for one thing.

A moment after time started, Beelzebumon's three eyes widened. Was it shock or pain that lingered in them?

A second later, he plowed into the ground with enough force to make the ground shake. As he ended up being bathed in the flames Belphemon created, he did the only thing he could do.

He screamed.

And the agony in that voice was like music to Rage Mode's ears.

Belphemon hit the ground a moment later, though with much less force. He landed beside Renamon's 'safe zone', though he himself stood within the fires. They licked at his feet and his dangling arms, but they did no harm to their master.

Belphemon's red eyes fell to look at the fallen Renamon. She was badly injured, as he'd suspected; covered in scratches and cuts and bruises and…

Bullet wounds?

His eyes softened for a minute as he extended a hand towards her. His energy claws bit deeply into the dirt beside her left side and his thumb crushed the ground by her right. He picked her up then; her and the ground she'd been laying upon.

Something changed, then. Was it quieter?

Yes…

The screaming had stopped.

His eyes rolled in their sockets as he looked for his target, but he didn't move anything else.

Beelzebumon was in the air again and this time he was holding…

Guns?

Well, that made sense. He had a gun, Renamon had bullet wounds, he was the only bad guy around; Belphemon could do the math.

"Not so fast, asshole." Beelzebumon hissed. "Double Impact!"

Belphemon's ears twitched.

"Sloth."

The word froze again, Beelzebumon's bullets not even half way to their target. The ground beneath and around them was being disturbed, as if it was being blown away.

Magic Bullets, something told Belphemon. Beelzebumon used magic bullets.

It didn't matter.

Belphemon turned away from his opponent entirely, lumbering towards the Tamers. The frozen Renamon was still in his hands.

He strolled out of the stilled flames as if he was talking a walk through the park. He quickly swept his eyes over the faces of the Humans he knew as the Tamers. They stopped on one face in particular.

Ruki…

A voice somewhere in the back of his head, in a place where kindness and reason were locked away, told him her name.

And he remembered.

An attack by Renamon. A girl in a dress. An evolution to Perfect…

He knelt down before her as time resumed. He gentle set Renamon down before her.

Behind his, a pair of bullets rushed passed like dual trains, creating a tunnel through the flames.

Before him, a small girl looked up at him with scared, nervous, and yet, hopeful eyes.

"Takato?" She asked.

He looked down upon her.

He barely remembered her, this girl that was speaking to him.

She was so small now…

That name she had spoken. Takato.

That was…

His name?

He closed his eyes.

Yes. His name was Takato. Just like her name was-

"Ruki." He said.

His voice was different now. Because he was…bigger? Yes, he hadn't always been this large. And his fangs got in the way when he spoke, because-

He didn't normally have fangs? Was that right?

He was confusing himself.

He was almost grateful when he was interrupted by Beelzebumon.

"Sloth." He said, in response to seemingly nothing.

But it wasn't nothing; he could tell that much without even looking.

Something was attacking him.

He glanced over his shoulder.

"…Hmph."

He turned around.

Time started again.

All seven of the bullets Beelzebumon had fired seemed to suddenly change direction, hitting the ground away from the Tamers harmlessly.

Beelzebumon was looking at him with a mix of anger, annoyance, and…contemplation?

Yes. Belphemon could tell with a familiarity he didn't understand that Beelzebumon was putting something together in that head of his.

"I see, so that's how it is." The Demon Lord of Gluttony said. "If it isn't my old friend."

Belphemon wondered if he was referring to Takato or…whoever else he had been. He couldn't remember exactly, but…

He felt he'd been someone else, before.

But both halves of him knew this Digimon, he felt.

Belphemon yawned, showing off huge teeth, before working his jaw a few times.

"Beelzebumon." He spoke. He felt like he wasn't used to talking, like he'd fallen out of the habit or something.

He looked up at the sky for a minute, trying to put words together; to come up with something to say.

His eyes fell back on his opponent.

"Die now, please." He said. "Sloth."

Beelzebumon seemed to have learned something. Or maybe he was just lucky.

But as he leapt into the air, he also attacked.

And he was smart enough not to aim it at Belphemon.

"Juouken!" He said just before the Indigo World stole movement from him.

The lion head-shaped energy wave travelled through the air.

At seeing Leomon's attack, Juri probably would have frozen even if Sloth hadn't robbed her of movement.

Which was bad, seeing as the attack was aimed at her.

Belphemon growled, abandoning his plan of pounding Beelzebumon out of existence.

For the moment.

He put himself between Juri and the attack, looking at his opponent.

As fate would have it, something had changed, at least in his eyes. He felt as though nobody else could see it, but as he used Leomon's attack, something appeared over Beelzebumon's stomach.

Two circles, much like his own, but there were differences.

LEVEL: 666. SYSTEM: BEELZEBUB. CODE: GLUTTONY.

CAUTION! PURGATORY LEVEL 6

And his symbols…Venus and Hagith, he recognized…somehow.

And then time resumed and it was gone.

"Gift of Darkness!" Belphemon cried, slashing with his hellfire clad claws.

The lion's head way blown away in an instant, the attack continuing on towards its target like it wasn't even there.

Beelzebumon laughed in…triumph, countering the attack with one of his own.

"Darkness Claw!"

The attacks cancelled each other out.

So then…

Why was Beelzebumon looking so smug?

The Lord of Gluttony's smile widened as he raised both of his guns.

One was aimed at Juri's head.

The other was aimed at Ruki's.

Belphemon didn't even have time to widen his eyes in realization before he pulled the triggers.

"Sloth!" He said as quickly as he could.

Luckily, the Indigo light washed over the world before either of the two girls could be hit. Belphemon was well aware of his good fortune; if they were hit, they'd die for sure.

Hell, even if they weren't hit, they'd probably die. The shockwaves those bullets generated were nothing to laugh at.

Juri was right behind him, so he protected her first. He snatched her up as quickly as he could without injuring the frozen girl and began to run.

Straight for Ruki, of course.

His Sloth had a limited duration, though he could chain them fairly easily.

However, there were problems with chaining them.

First of all, no matter how easy it was to do, he could not activate a Time Stop within a Time Stop; he had to wait until the first one ended to even try.

Second of all, activating them required him to say the word 'Sloth'…which generally wasn't an issue, but when dealing with an extremely fast moving attack, object, or opponent, the split second needed to do it was more than long enough for a great deal to happen.

Belphemon shook away a mental image of a Knight in Blue. It seemed…familiar, but he had bigger things to worry about.

If he ran for the bullet, then by the time he reached it the Time Stop could have ended. If so, by the time he could react and restart it, it could have already hit Ruki. At the very least, it would be in a different location.

So instead he ran for Ruki. He could move in a straight line between Juri's former location and Ruki's current location, while he'd have to run in a longer, diagonal, line to reach the bullet, anyway.

If he could get to Ruki before the Time Stop ended, though…

But it wasn't meant to be. He could see the Violet tinge fading at the edges of the world.

His time was up.

The irony hurt almost as much as the sight did.

"No." Belphemon growled. "No, no, no, no, NO!"

He cried out in anger and denial, almost roaring but stopping short.

And fate complied, almost as if out of fear of that voice.

Before, whenever the duration of Sloth ran out, the color would fade and things would immediately return to normal.

But this time, it happened a bit differently.

More gradually.

It was only an extra second. The bullet began to move forward, but oh, so slowly, as if passing through something much thinker then air. Everything around he began to move as well, but even more slowly. Even the girl in his hand was beginning to move.

They were slow, but…they got faster extremely quickly.

It was only an extra second.

But it was enough.

He interposed his free hand just in time for it to take the bullet meant for the girl.

As expected, it drilled most of the way through his hand. He wanted to cry out in pain. He wanted to roar his fury and anger towards Beelzebumon.

But he didn't.

Instead, he clinched his teeth, swallowed his cry, and narrowed his eyes.

"Sloth."

In a flash, the Tamers and their partners had been gathered up and deposited in one place. On one hand, they'd now be easier to target. But they'd be easier to protect as well, and that was all he cared about.

He narrowed his eyes even further, until they were nothing but slits; a silent challenge towards Beelzebumon.

The Demon Lord of Gluttony laughed and lifted his guns.

He fired three times before Belphemon finished speaking.

"Sloth."

An enormous fist slammed into Beelzebumon's chest, flinging him away. Then, with deliberate slowness, Belphemon opened the fingers of his good hand.

One by one, three bullets dropped to the ground.

Beelzebumon's smirk twisted into a scowl, then. He glared at Belphemon from within the corridor carved by his magic bullets, walls of flames on either side.

Belphemon silently willed the parted flames back together and the leapt to his command with a sound like a tortured scream.

No, wait; that was just Beelzebumon.

"Juouken!"

Belphemon heard the attack and braced himself for it, fully intending to blast right through it.

But it wasn't aimed at him.

Beelzebumon's –no, _Leomon's_ – attack hit the ground, blowing away the flames once more.

"Double Impact!" The burnt Demon Lord roared from the ground. He was on his knees, his clothing blackened and burnt by the evil flames.

But even so, he lifted one hand to attack, firing four shots.

"Sloth." Belphemon uttered, now bored.

This fight was over.

In his opinion, it had been over the moment he'd woken up, but…

Beelzebumon had never been one to accept his place, had he?

But it didn't matter. At this point, with those wounds, it would take divine intervention to save him.

Well…he supposed even scum can be impressive at times.

Time halted and then resumed.

The bullets all shifted their course unnaturally, twisting at angles away from Belphemon, who now stood close to Beelzebumon. The larger Digimon poked one finger at Impmon's Ultimate form and stared his fellow Demon Lord down.

Beelzebumon's three eyes widened, then. He knew what was coming.

Belphemon smiled, his beastly visage turning it more into a baring of teeth than anything else. Fitting, for there was nothing _but_ teeth in that smile.

"Gift of Darkness." He said.

Hellfire coated his claws, then; covering them, lengthening them.

And the finger poking at Beelzebumon's chest was not excluded.

At that moment, a single claw of hellfire ran him through.

Beelzebumon stared down in shock at the impaling digit, as if, for a moment, he didn't feel it.

And then that moment ended and he started screaming.

Beelzebumon clutched blindly at Belphemon's finger as he threw his head back in a maddened cry. He took a step back and then another, removing himself from it even as the hellfire burnt his hands.

And through it all, Belphemon stared down at him with eyes that somehow managed to be both malevolent and disinterested.

"That's it for you, old friend." He purred.

Beelzebumon let go of his opponents hand to clutch at his wound. He focused his disbelieving eyes on Belphemon and mustered up a pitiful glare.

"I lost?" He asked, a maniac gleam in his eyes. "You think I could lose to the likes of you?"

With his free hand, he swung his gun towards Belphemon. At this range, there was no way the Demon Lord of Sloth could stop time before he was hit.

Belphemon didn't even bother. He caught the arm and snapped it like a twig.

Beelzebumon started to scream again but ruthlessly suppressed it, gritting his teeth.

Amusment appeared in Belphemon's eyes, then. The larger Digimon began to work individual fingers around his opponents arm, tightening and relaxing individual fingers with malicious glee, breaking his fellow Demon Lords arm in many places.

Beelzebumon couldn't suppress his screams after _that_ and they rang out over the battlefield.

His opponent enjoyed every second of it.

Beelzebumon lifted his head after he was finished in one last display of defiance.

"You've won." He admitted, through grit teeth. "Now hurry up and load me."

On the other side of the battle-scarred area, across the evil flames and broken ground, a girl shook her head.

"Stop…" She murmured.

The amusement faded from Belphemon's eyes.

"I can't forgive you, you who killed Leomon. You…I can't ever forgive you!" Belphemon snarled, his eyes widening in his greatest display of emotion since his awakening. Every emotion that had lurked in his eyes during the battle fled, chased out by blood and rage and a madness that was without end.

Without a doubt, he too was a Demon Lord.

There was only one answer he could give to a defeated opponent.

It came, as swift and sure as an executioner's ax.

"I'll send you straight to hell…Beelzebumon!"

He lifted his burning claws and swung them back down.

"Stop!" Juri shouted, screaming at the top of her lungs.

The claws sank into the earth in front of Beelzebumon.

Both Demon Lords turned to gaze at the girl who had interrupted the natural way of things.

"Please…stop this already, Takato-kun…" Juri pleaded.

Belphemon stared at her silently for a moment longer before removing his claws from the dirt and standing tall.

Yes, he was a Demon Lord…

But he was also Matsuda Takato.

"I don't…I don't want anyone else to disappear." She continued, tears filling her eyes.

At that moment, within the darkness and silence that was Belphemon, two beings truly awoke.

"Juri." Guilmon said through their mouth.

"Kato-san…" Takato said within his black sphere.

The fire faded from their claws along with the haze of rage that had stripped them of reason.

They nodded at Juri.

"Why is it…" Beelzebumon asked at their feet, but his question was not directed at them. "Why are you covering for me?"

Slowly, hand still over his wound, he stood, turning to face Juri fully even though it put his back to Belphemon.

The tears began to fall, then.

"Even…even if we kill you…it wouldn't bring Leomon back to life. I…I don't want there to be anymore sadness or pain…so please…Please stop fighting now!"

Her legs gave out beneath her and she fell to her knees.

Belphemon glowed with indigo light, bright enough to blind and when it faded away, Takato and Guilmon crouched by her side on the other side of the battlefield while Beelzebumon stood staring blankly on.

The Demon Lord of Gluttony closed his eyes, turned, and walked away.

He was…

Completely defeated.

**The End**

**XxXXxX OMAKE XxXXxX**

Beelzebumon Blast Mode's eyelids twitched as he began to wake before suddenly snapping open as he recalled the last thing he remembered before losing consciousness.

"Juri!" He said, struggling against his bonds.

The young girl didn't respond, even when Culumon began shaking her.

"Beelzebumon woke up!" He said excitedly.

Beelzebumon looked at the scene before him. In a clear sphere that hung within D-Reaper, three figures lay. However, only one of them showed any signs of responding.

Culumon, the one who had led him here…He was grateful to the small Digimon, but his attempts to wake Juri seemed futile.

Juri…He didn't know if she was conscious or not, but one way or another, she showed no signs of responding.

Which left…

Belphemon. Takato and Guilmon's merged form.

After Dobermon sacrificed his life to allow the Tamers to merge in the Real World, Takato and Guilmon had promptly done so. Rather than the Sleep Mode they had become last time, they had fused to form the more powerful Rage Mode. The mighty Demon Lord of Sloth had roared his revival to the heavens and that roar had deleted every agent of the D-Reaper that heard it. Then the fell-beast had gone on a rampage, tearing through the city and slaying everything it associated with D-Reaper. In less than an hour, the bane of the Digital World had been put completely on the defensive and had slowly but surely been pushed back.

And then, when things had seemed to be at their brightest, the inevitable happened.

Belphemon had fallen asleep.

What followed had been a desperate battle as the heavily injured D-Reaper sent wave after wave of its agents in an attempt to achieve victory before the Tamers recovered.

It had failed, but only just.

Even so, the tide was in their favor. They'd kept the ground Takato had won, pushing back their enemy as far as they could. And when Culumon had guided him towards Juri, it had seemed victory was at hand. He'd taken Belphemon with him and entered the creature's central core.

And then, he'd been captured and left unconscious.

He struggled against his bounds, but they held him fast.

But, even so, he wasn't completely out of options.

There was a reason he'd taken his fellow Demon Lord, after all.

Belphemon could always be counted upon to fall asleep. For that reason, he hadn't been surprised when he'd lost momentum in the fight against D-Reaper; with his memories of a past that both was and was not his own, it had seemed almost inevitable.

But, at the same time, Belphemon could be trusted to do one more thing.

Belphemon could always be trusted to wake back up.

"Takato!" Beelzebumon shouted. "Culumon, wake him up! Takato!"

"Guilmon!" Culumon said, rushing to the merged Digimon's side. "Takato!"

Belphemon made a sound that Beelzebumon interpreted as 'Go away or I'll kill you.'

"Takato! Juri's in danger Takato! But she'd right there! She's right there within your grasp! You can save her! Just wake up! Belphemon, for once in your life, wake up on time!"

For a moment, it seemed useless, but then, Belphemon began to stir.

"That's it! Wake up – guh!" Beelzebumon was cut off as the binds that held him, parts of the D-Reaper, tightened and pulled at him. They began to drag him out and, though he fought, it was futile to resist. He saw more tendrils reach for Belphemon and pick him up, though they were much gentler with him.

As if they were afraid of waking him up.

"Belphemon!" Beelzebumon tried one last time, but though he began to toss and turn fitfully, Beelzebumon knew he wouldn't wake in time. "Damn it! Juri!"

**XxXXxX**

The pair was thrown from the sphere together.

"Damn it! You gotta be kidding me!" Beelzebumon snarled as he fell. "I've gotta rescue that girl! What are you doing, Belphemon! Sleeping on the job at a time like this! Wake up, you piece of shit!"

He spread his wings and caught himself, but Belphemon continued to fall. He was about to fly down to catch him, but he halted at the last second.

That sound…

That sound he knew so well.

The ringing of a clock.

Beelzebumon started laughing.

"Finally decided to get up, huh! You bastard…it certainly took you long enough!"

An enormous burst of light died the skyline indigo before it was chased away by a roar that shook the earth. D-Reaper shook with the force of the sound, or maybe with fear, and the surface of the Gatekeeper began to crack.

Beelzebumon began to descend, landing on his ally's head.

"As usual, you sleep too much Belphemon. We could have ended this if you'd woken up earlier, you know! I hope you don't think this is the type of thing you can make up for with just an apology!"

Belphemon growled in response.

"Hmph. As long as you understand." Beelzebumon said, before becoming serious as he faced the Gatekeeper. "Juri's in there. I don't know where the others are, now; we've been held captive for…I don't know how long. But for all I know, we're the only ones she has to rely on now."

Belphemon growled again, but this time it sounded almost…comforting.

Beelzebumon bared his teeth.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It don't matter if there's only the two of us…we're all she needs!"

A green aura flared up around Beelzebumon while an Indigo one did the same to Belphemon. Beelzebumon's black wings were burnt away by that flare of color as their owner threw his head back in an agonized cry as the two colors began to mix. Belphemon answered his ally's cry with one of his own, his full of dark joy and excitement. And then, as Beelzebumon's wings before them, their bodies melted away in a wash of color.

"Beelzebumon…"

"Belphemon…"

"Jogress shinka!"

And in their place, a new Digimon stood upon the earth.

"**Ogudomon!"**

And the earth trembled, for it was upon it.

**XxXXxX**


	2. Second Window: God Steps I

**Open Windows**

**Second Window: God Steps**

**Part One: Speed**

Guilmon jumped towards Gorimon, who was standing on an upper level, but the Adult Digimon easily dodged. Gorimon literally hopped, landing with his foot on Guilmon's head, sending both of them to the lower level.

Guilmon's was nothing if not durable, however; the Child quickly recovered and tackled the larger Digimon.

Takato glance worriedly at his partner, even as He and Jenrya climbed to the upper level, out of harm's way.

This wasn't his first battle; not technically at least. He'd fought Renamon twice already.

But…

Well, neither of those fights had ended very well.

Gorimon grabbed Guilmon suddenly, throwing him away. He slammed into a pillar, causing Takato to wince in sympathy, but he caught himself and did a hand stand.

"I can stand upside down!" He said in cheerful surprise, innocent even in the midst of battle.

However, Guilmon's words caused Takato pain. His partner was so innocent; a Child in many senses of the word. He wasn't even a week old yet, so why…

Why did all these people come after Guilmon!

Terriermon didn't seem to like watching Guilmon get hurt either, thankfully.

"I'm going." The small Digimon said.

Jenrya looked startled.

"No, wait!" He says, trying to stop his partner.

"Why not?" Terriermon demanded. "Gorimon's beating the crap out of Guilmon! Shouldn't I protect my friend?"

Jenrya opened and closed his mouth, unable to respond to that.

Finally, he nodded. Terriermon smiled at him and jumped down.

Takato felt a bit bad as he looked at Jenrya. He didn't know why, but the more experience Tamer didn't like to fight. Well, Takato didn't like to fight, either, but he always ended up doing so and…

And Jenrya always ended up having to rescue him.

Takato's eyes suddenly widened as Gorimon turned away from Guilmon and aimed his canon at them.

Well, logically, he was attacking Terriermon, but the attack would hit them, too.

"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon cried, scrambling to his feet and rushing to his Tamer's aid, despite his beating.

Gorimon roared as the attack hit his side, knocking him off balance enough to make him miss and save the two human's lives.

Gorimon snarled, whirling toward the Virus Child, ready to turn his cannon on him.

Terriermon interrupted.

"Blazing Fire!"

The attacks took the larger Digimon in the eyes, blinding him for the moment.

Seeing that Gorimon was preoccupied, Takato reached for his cards.

After seeing what Ruki had done with her cards earlier, Takato had spent all the money he had—which wasn't a whole lot—buying card pack after card pack, but he hadn't even had time to get to know them very well.

Hell, he wasn't even sure what they would do when he slashed them!

But…

Gorimon recovered quickly and immediately resumed his attack. He brought a fist down like a hammer, forcing the two Child Levels to leap in opposite directions.

Guilmon tried to counter attack, but Gorimon was surprisingly fast for his size.

Then…

Takato frowned, flipping through his cards quickly.

"High Speed Plug-in B, Activate!" He said, speaking words that would change his life.

The battle shifted in an instant as Guilmon's speed increased drastically. He covered half the length of the construction site and smashed into Gorimon while he was swinging a metal beam at Terriermon like a bat.

Gorimon snarled and tried to attack Guilmon, but Takato's partner was out of range in an instant.

Jenrya watched with wide eyes.

"So fast…"

Too fast, he realized after a moment of thought.

He frowned.

Yes, Guilmon was moving too fast for a simple Speed card to be the cause. Jenrya had used that card before and he knew its effects. It was a good card, but it should cause this much an increase!

But Takato didn't know that, so he was simply gleeful.

It was working! Guilmon had been losing, but he'd slashed that card and…

Changing the course of a battle with a single card…was this what it meant to be a Tamer?

Takato looked back at the cards in his hand and shifted one with his thumb so that he could see the one behind it.

He looked at it thoughtfully and felt a bit unsure.

But…

If he'd really changed the battle with one card…

If Guilmon had become this powerful with a single card…

Then what if he slashed another one?

He glanced back at the battle. Guilmon was toe to toe with Gorimon and was slowly pushing him back. Gorimon couldn't land a hit, but, at the same time, it was taking Guilmon awhile to wear him down.

How long would his card last?

Would Guilmon be able to win with that card alone?

Yes, Takato told himself firmly, because Guilmon was strong.

But…

If he lost…

They wouldn't be able to be together any more…

He glanced at the card and his resolve hardened.

"High Speed Plug-in H, Activate!" He said.

Just as suddenly as the previous shift, the battlefield changed.

Whereas before, Gorimon and Guilmon had given, at least, the illusion of equality, now…

Guilmon was nothing but a blur and Gorimon was being torn apart.

Gorimon tried to punch Guilmon in the face, but the Virus was already behind him, raking his opponents back with his claws. By the time Gorimon whirled around, Guilmon had already reached the upper levels and stood by his Tamer.

Jenrya stepped back in surprise, but Takato just looked at his partner in awe.

"Tamer," He growled, as if under great strain. "Almost…I'm almost there…I can feel it…Takato! Please make me faster!"

Takato didn't understand what he was talking about; he was _crushing_ Gorimon.

But…if Guilmon wanted him to, then…

Takato swallowed and gave a miniscule nod, even as Gorimon struggled to recover below them. Jenrya was looking between the Tamer and his partner, as if something was happening, but he didn't understand it.

Takato understood the feeling.

He began to thumb through his cards again.

"High Speed Attack, Activate!" He said.

Where before, Guilmon was a blur, now he was barely visible. Takato felt like he was watching a movie and suddenly skipping scenes. One moment, Guilmon had stood beside him and the next there was a crater on the ground and Gorimon was flying through the air.

Guilmon cried out in pain.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted, eyes widening. It wasn't his partner's pain—well, it wasn't _just_ his partner's pain—it was what was happening to him now.

He was flickering; not because he was fast, but actually flickering. He was shifting between colors; between red and black and blue and white and Takato wasn't sure why!

Had he done this…! B-but, what _had_ he done!

"Tamer!" Guilmon cried, and Takato was struck by the elation in his voice. "I'm almost there; I can feel it! I can _remember_! Just make me a little faster!"

Jenrya finally spoke up.

"Takato, I don't think that's a good idea; he's acting really strangely." He said, sounding worried. "He…this isn't what's supposed to happen when you use those cards!"

"Takato!" Guilmon shouted, and Takato couldn't help but think he sounded different now; he sounded different then he had before he'd used that card. There was emotion in his voice that Takato couldn't understand. "Please, Takato! Make me faster! Let me run a little bit faster!"

"Takato!" Jenrya insisted.

Takato looked between the two; between his more experienced friend and the Digimon he'd created.

He had to choose between the two of them.

He took a deep breath and took from his hand the card his eyes had been lingering on. After the first three cards, he'd looked for it almost unconsciously.

"Damn it, Takato!" Jenrya swore, surprising Takato and making him hesitate.

He looked at his partner again and saw the silent plea in his eyes.

"Speed Up Food, Activate!" He said.

The next moment, he was blinded by an explosion of blue light and a sound like the shattering of glass.

**XxXXxX**

In the Western Quadrant, a Digimon ran. He ran so fast, that none noticed his passing, for he was too fast for the eye to see. It was said he always ran; that he so hated staying in the same place that he never stopped.

He did hate to stay in the same place.

But it was untrue that he never stopped; a fact proven when he suddenly halted in his running.

He stopped for many reasons; to fight, to eat, to, occasionally, sleep.

But on that day, it was pure, simple shock that halted the mighty Mercurymon.

He stared at the sky with hidden eyes, wide under his mask. For a moment, his mouth hung open, as he refused to believe what he was sensing, but recovered a moment later and began to grit his teeth.

"You…You're still alive, you bastard!"

The Real World. Normally, it wasn't a place that held any interest to him, but—

Yes, without a doubt; _he_ was there.

But that didn't make any sense!

_He_ should be dead!

They'd fought and he'd won! He'd beaten his enemy and taken his life!

_You don't know that_, Doubt whispered. _You never saw him die. Dukemon interfered._

Dukemon didn't matter! He'd finally managed to overcome that damn Program and he'd stabbed him right in the Digital Core! There was nothing that could be done to save him! He might as well have decapitated the bastard!

_There's nothing that you know of that could save him. There's a difference. Maybe Dukemon knew something you didn't._

So what if he did! He'd sent Minervamon after him and she'd killed him and made sure his opponent had died with his brother in arms!

_Did she really?_

If Mercurymon hadn't frozen already, he would have then.

He didn't really _know_ what had happened, did he? He'd been wounded in battle and had needed to recover. He'd asked Minervamon to go after them instead and she'd said she'd finished them both off, but…

Did he have any way of knowing that she told the truth?

Mercurymon nearly growled, but forced himself to stop.

It was a bit early to be pointing fingers, wasn't it? Why was he standing around thinking about this when no answers were forthcoming?

After all…could he not simply _ask_ her?

Yes, that's what he would do; with his speed it would take no time at all to reach her home. He would simply ask her to explain the situation.

But first, he needed to make a quick stop.

He covered most of the Western Quadrant in moments and was in front of a large house—a mansion, really—before anyone would even have realized he'd left.

He walked in without even knocking. It was _his_, after all, even if he'd given it to one of his soldiers.

As soon as he opened the door, his 'host' came running. Few others would have even seen his arrival, but Mercurymon saw every step.

Of course, he'd been noticed in return.

Rinkmon bowed at his feet before speaking.

"Mercurymon-sama." He said. "I hadn't expected you."

"Something came up." The Ultimate Level replied. "I sensed UlforceV-dramon."

Rinkmon started.

"Milord?" He couldn't keep himself from asking. "But isn't he…?"

"So I'd thought." Mercurymon replied dryly. "And yet, there he is. I can feel him even now, at the edge of my senses, like he's mocking me."

Rinkmon was silent for a moment.

"What would you have me do?" He asked.

"He's in the Real World connected to the Southern Quadrant." Mercurymon stated, even as he drew his knife, Aztec. "Find him. Kill him."

He stabbed his knife into the air and dragged it down, as if cutting it.

And, indeed, it was cut! A hole opened in Space, large enough for a grown man to walk through.

Rinkmon swallowed.

"Master, I mean no disrespect, but-"

The Olympian knew what he was going to say and cut him off.

"He's weak. So weak I didn't notice until now. I wouldn't have noticed at all, if not for a sudden spike in its power. It might not even be him, for everything I know says he must be dead. Even if he isn't, find the source of that power and kill it."

Rinkmon nodded, worries momentarily put to rest.

"As you wish, milord."

**XxXXxX**

Takato sat with his back to the fall of his partner's shed. Guilmon sat by him—nearly on top of him, really—his head pressed against his chest. It wasn't very comfortable, but Takato saw at the awed look in his partner's eyes and kept quiet.

Guilmon was acting like he'd never heard a heart beat before.

He probably hadn't.

He would need to go home soon; it was getting late. But for the moment, this was fine, he supposed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

Gorimon was dead. Takato hadn't actually seen it happen, of course; that flash of blue light had blinded him for a moment and by the time he could see again, Gorimon was gone.

But Guilmon had said that he'd won and Takato believed him.

He slowly put an arm around Guilmon's head and held it firmly to his chest. Guilmon didn't complain.

Today…had been a weird day. And, surprisingly, being attacked by a giant gorilla from another dimension was pretty low on the list of reasons why.

Guilmon had been exhausted when he'd run to his side, which hadn't really surprised Takato; he _had_ used all those cards. But he'd barely had time to regret his decision when Guilmon began to recover. He'd caught his breath extremely fast and the injuries Gorimon had inflicted on him earlier had faded before his eyes.

Jenrya had been a silent presence hovering over them the entire time, but Takato hadn't been able to see what was on his mind.

A part of him wished he was that good at schooling his features.

But even after Jenrya had left, Takato's question's stayed behind.

What was that blue light? Why had Guilmon healed so quickly? Why was he so obsessed with speed?

Takato didn't know. He'd _made_ Guilmon, but none of those things had been in his designs.

Neither had the mark on his partner's chest.

But, if he hadn't made them, then where had they come from?

Maybe it didn't matter. Guilmon, his _drawing_, had come to life; what did it matter if there were a few differences here and there? He had the partner he'd always wished for.

What did it matter that he was so fast? His speed helped him defeat Gorimon.

What did it matter if he healed fast? All it meant was that he was safer.

He should really just relax; they were weird, but none of those things seemed to put him in danger. Except maybe his desire for speed. But even that was only dangerous if Takato continued to slash cards.

Yes. It didn't matter…

Takato's eyes snapped opened at the sound of his partner's loud growl and the ringing of his Digivice. He tried to blink the tiredness from his eyes, but he still couldn't see anything.

It took a few seconds for he's newly awoken mind to understand what that meant.

He'd fallen asleep. It was really late, now, so it must have been hours.

Oh, crap; his parents were gonna kill him.

No, wait, that wasn't what he should be worried about right now!

"Guilmon?" He asked, trying and failing to keep his voice from sounding too sleepy. He wanted to go back to sleep, even knowing he was in trouble.

"Someone's coming." Guilmon whispered, his growl stopping with surprising abruptness.

"Someone?" He asked through a yawn. "Who?"

Guilmon was quiet for a moment, but it was enough for Takato's still sleepy mind to make the connection between his partner's growl and his Digivice's ringing. When he did, he mentally kicked himself.

His mom was right; he was useless after just waking up.

"A Digimon?" He asked again. "Like Gorimon?"

Guilmon turned towards him and Takato was surprised that he could see his partner's face. It took him a moment to realize why.

Guilmon's eyes were glowing.

No, not only that, Takato thought, mesmerized.

That wasn't Guilmon's normal eye color. They'd darkened to a brown, almost red color.

"No," Guilmon said, startling him from his reverie. "Not like Gorimon."

Was that Guilmon's voice? It sounded the same, but there was something there that hadn't been there before.

Thoughtfulness? Maturity? Confidence? Wisdom? Maybe all of them. And…maybe even some things he didn't understand.

"G-Guilmon?"

"They're here for me." Guilmon said. "I had…hoped this wouldn't happen. But it was my mistake. I was in a hurry to regain my power and so I made a mistake. I was a fool for thinking nobody would notice."

"I don't understand what you're saying, Guilmon." Takato admitted, honestly worried.

Guilmon just looked at him sadly.

"You don't have to. Everything will be over by morning. By tomorrow, this will all be like a dream and you go on with your life."

"Guilmon, you're scaring me."

And he was. Takato didn't know why, but he felt like, in this moment, something horrible was happening.

Guilmon shook his head.

"Don't be scared, Takato. Just stay here, in this place." Guilmon gestured at the shed. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Guilmon smiled, then, and Takato could help but think it looked like a goodbye.

"I'm sorry." Guilmon said. "It hasn't been very long at all, but…I'm glad that you brought me into this World. And…I'm glad that we were partners, if just for a little while."

He turned and walked out of the shed.

But before he left, he had one more thing to say.

"I wish…" He began wistfully. "That you and I could have been together forever."

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon walked further into the park.

He would be found soon.

It was, in fact, rather surprising that he had not been found _yet_.

But then, he was doing all he could to suppress his power. It was good to know that he had not lost all of his former power.

However, that would only work for so long.

If it was one of the Servants of the Olympus Twelve—and it must have been, coming from the Western Quadrant—than they knew how to deal with him. This was not the first time he'd hid his power, even though it may well be the last.

If they couldn't find him, they would start killing innocent people.

They thought that would draw him out.

To their credit, they were right.

Even now, they were right.

This was not his world.

These were not his people.

But even so, he would die to protect him.

He was a Royal Knight.

It was what he did.

After he was sure there was nobody around to get hurt, he stopped suppressing his power.

It didn't even take a second for his pursuer to arrive. In a flash, someone was in front of him.

He immediately labeled him one of Mercurymon's soldiers, as he'd expected.

That was unfortunate, though, even if it was expected.

Mercurymon wouldn't pull his punches when it came to him. His new opponent was no doubt extremely strong.

Even worse, it was someone he recognized.

**XxXXxX**

The Digivice lit up, creating a holographic screen.

_Rinkmon, Armor Cyborg, Data Type. This Digimon can speed up to ninety-eight percent of the speed of light. His strength is very low, but he is faster than HerculesKabuterimon and SaberLeomon._

Takato swallowed at the percentage, but tried to calm himself. It said his strength was low, right? And Guilmon had the type advantage.

Maybe it would be okay.

He tried to believe that.

But he couldn't. Maybe it was the way Guilmon had sounded before leaving, maybe it was a dim comprehension of what that percentage—ninety-eight percent of the speed of _light itself_—but he couldn't make himself believe things would be okay.

**XxXXxX**

Rinkmon were weak, even if they were fast.

Guilmon knew this; he'd crushed Rinkmon before. If this was the Rinkmon he was thinking of, he may have even crushed _this particular_ Rinkmon before.

But he knew better than to think things would be the same as they were in the past.

He narrowed his eyes, facts flashing through his mind.

Force equals mass times acceleration; the degree at which an amount of matter accelerates through space determines the amount of force it has.

Acceleration equals force divided by mass; that is, the amount of force acting on an amount of matter decides the degree to which is accelerates.

Human's consider it impossible for anything to reach the Speed of Light, as the mass of something would increase to infinity and thus require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate.

Digimon, however, have a number of ways around such problems, some of which can simply be summed up as flat-out ignoring them. Such abilities were generally restricted to higher level Digimon, however, which thankfully didn't include Rinkmon. Rinkmon actually had to pay a certain amount of attention to the laws of physics, even as he screwed them.

Rinkmon's ability was quite simple; he was able to alter his data to make himself effectively have less mass. After all, things without mass would have no problem moving at the speed of light. The obvious example of this is the photon. Rinkmon wasn't able to reduce his mass to zero, but he could get it low enough to move at the majority of the speed of light.

However, to do that, he has to lower his mass to the point of making his attacks…well…really wussy. F=ma, after all.

However…

Even a pathetic attack is dangerous if repeated a thousand times and Rinkmon has the speed to do that. If he had his speed back, this fight wouldn't be a problem, but as it was, the difference in speed alone decided this battle; nothing he could do would be fast enough to matter.

He thought about that and examined that thought, looking for alternatives like a trained warrior ought.

He didn't find any, so he came to a single conclusion.

He was going to die today. He couldn't win, he couldn't fight, and he _wouldn't_ surrender, so he would die.

It would take a miracle to change that.

Sadly, he wasn't Magnamon and couldn't pop them out on demand.

Rinkmon was simply looking at him, but he flickered from place to place on occasion, though Guilmon could not see him move.

"I…" Rinkmon said. "Have no idea what type of Digimon you are. But…I sensed UlforceV-dramon's energy from you. And that symbol on your chest is Dukemon's."

Rinkmon seemed to ponder something for a moment.

"There must by a hell of a story behind this one." He said, suddenly smirking. "A shame I'll never hear it. Bye."

And then it happened.

Guilmon had been expecting it and he'd known, logically, what would happen.

But it was one thing to _understand_ and another thing to _experience_.

Rinkmon fell upon him like a vulture. Like the lightning and the rain.

He was a hurricane and Guilmon was a man trying to cling to debris at sea.

It was not a fight.

It was like the battle between man and nature.

It was over almost as quickly as it had begun, really, and he had not even realized it was over until after the fact.

He hit the ground some fifty meters away, but he was pretty sure he'd slammed into various other things along the way.

He did a quick count of his injuries, as he had been trained to do.

His jaw hurt a lot. So did his forearms. His upper arms seemed okay, surprising, but his legs had received an enormous amount of damage. He was sure why; it was plainly obvious that he was hopelessly slow compared to Rinkmon. His chest…

If he had ribs, they would have been broken. All of them.

In fact, that could be broadly applied to every area he was feeling pain in.

He wanted to scream in pain, but crushed the urge under the unassailable mountain that was his training. Once he was able to think through the pain, he mentally frowned.

He was still alive.

That…didn't make any sense.

Mercurymon didn't want him alive. He'd said as much, straight to his face.

'There was no possible benefit worth allowing someone as dangerous as you to survive.'

Unless Mercurymon knew how weak he was…

No. Mercurymon was good, he could admit that; good enough, even to beat him.

However, he was in the Western Quadrant of the Digital World. He, on the other hand, was in the Human World connected to the Southern Quadrant.

He was multiple dimensions away.

Mercurymon was good.

But not that good.

But then…

Why was he still alive?

Guilmon suddenly realized something.

He created a mental image of his own injuries and then copied them onto the body of a Rinkmon.

It was a familiar image.

He felt like laughing. He tried, but it came out as a choking sound.

You really do reap what you sow, he supposed.

Naturally, Rinkmon noticed.

"Something funny?" He asked, leaning against a tree some twenty meters away.

Guilmon turned his head slightly.

He saw Rinkmon's face and smiled.

"You look like you think so, too."

Rinkmon's smirk widened.

"Granted." He admitted. "I am surprised, however, that we find the same thing funny."

"I'm amused by the irony of this role-reversal." Guilmon stated. "I was just thinking I've reaped what I sowed."

Rinkmon let out a quick laugh.

"Great minds think alike, I suppose."

Suddenly, Rinkmon was by his side and on one knee.

"So you really are UlforceV-dramon?" He asked. "This really must be quite a story. You've amused me, you know. Just a little bit. If you tell it to me and make it interesting, I'll wait until you're done to kill you."

Guilmon tried laughing again.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time." Rinkmon said.

"Also, I'm not the type to tell stories." Guilmon said smugly. "I let them tell themselves."

He couldn't see it under the stupid looking helmet, but Guilmon imagined Rinkmon was raising an eyebrow.

"You realize I hold your life in my hands, right? One would think you'd make an effort to keep me amused."

"Good point." Guilmon conceded before baring his teeth in a draconic smile. "Okay; here's a cool story. Once upon a time, there was this dumb Rinkmon who was causing trouble in the West. He was an arrogant little shit, running around, thinking nobody could catch him and hurt a lot of innocent people. But then one day, a handsome Blue Knight showed up and shoved his foot up Rinkmon's ass. And so the day was saved, UlforceV-dramon was awesome, and Rinkmon was totally his bitch."

Rinkmon's face had become expressionless halfway through and now he stared impassively down at the lower level Digimon.

"You done?" He asked.

Guilmon nodded happily.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Cool."

Guilmon didn't see anything this time either, but he certainly _felt_ it.

Put simply, he'd just gotten hit in the stomach. How many times, however, he could not say. All he knew was that he now lay at the bottom of a crater because the repeated impacts had broken the ground.

If he had blood, he would probably be coughing it up right now.

"You're pretty stupid, you know that?" Rinkmon told him. "You should be a little more obedient to your betters."

Guilmon forced himself to smirk. Not that he didn't want to smirk; he did. He was just having a hard time making his body move.

"My betters? What'chu talkin' 'bout, Rinkmon? Last time we fought, I kicked your ass in less than a second. Literally. _And I spent most of that time playing with you_! I hung you up by your ankles in the middle of a city and let people use you as a piñata, you mass-murdering fuck. Mercurymon beat me, true, so he has the right to brag. But you? I bet you were quaking in your little boots when he told you to go after me."

Rinkmon flushed and Guilmon laughed.

"It's true! Ahahaha; oh, wow. Did he have to tell you how weak I was to make you come? He did, didn't he?" He smirked slyly at the Armor Digimon. "You are totally my bitch forever."

Rinkmon kicked him in the side. Repeatedly, he assumed, though he didn't actually _see_ that.

"You are nothing!" Rinkmon said, all traces of humor gone. "Look at you! UlforceV-dramon, third in command of the Royal Knights! Defeated at my feet! I'm pathetic? I'm pathetic! Then what the hell are you! Oh, wait; I know!"

He clinched a hand into a fist.

"A _dead man_!"

The fist swung down like an executioner's axe.

Guilmon knew he'd need a miracle to survive.

He got one.

**XxXXxX**

"All Freeze, Activate!" Takato shouted.

**XxXXxX**

Time halted.

Rinkmon's fist stopped in mid-fall, the birds disturbed by their one-sided battle stopped in midflight, and even the falling leaves were suspended in midair.

It didn't take Guilmon long to realized what had happened.

_Takato_…

His Tamer.

That's right; he didn't have a miracle maker like Magnamon, but he did have a Tamer, which was almost as good.

But…

_Why did you have to get involved, Takato?_

Even with his Tamer, could he really win? If he failed now, they would likely still wonder where all of his sudden power boosts came from. And if they did, they might even be able to find Takato.

_I…didn't want you to get involved._

If he wanted to keep his Tamer safe, then…

He would have to win an impossible battle.

Even though he could not claim to be even one ten-millionth as fast as Rinkmon, he had to win.

He tried to stand.

He couldn't.

_Wha…?_

It took him a moment to understand.

Whatever Takato had done, it affected him too!

Then…

_What good is this, Takato!_

**XxXXxX**

Takato sat alone in his room in a world that seemed frozen. As soon as Guilmon had left, he'd rushed home. His parents were gone; they were probably out looking for him right now. He felt bad about worrying them, but…

He wasn't running. He wasn't going to leave his friend behind.

He just needed to get a few things.

Takato couldn't claim to be the smartest kid around; he didn't get really good grades. He couldn't say that he was athletic, either. And he wasn't good with girls; he could barely speak to his crush without blushing.

But there was one thing he could, at this moment, say proudly.

He was obsessed with Digimon. He always had been, even before Guilmon was created.

And though, after seeing what Ruki could do with them, he'd spent all of his money buying cards…

He'd been playing the card game for a lot longer than Guilmon had been around.

He had plenty of other cards.

He'd rushed up to his room, gathered up the boxes he kept them in, and dumped all of them onto the floor in reckless haste. As soon as he'd found All Freeze, he'd slashed it, hoping it would buy him time to find the cards he needed.

Guilmon thought he was going to die. Takato wasn't a genius, but he wasn't stupid, either; he could tell that much. Guilmon was walking into a battle he didn't think he could win.

But…

"I won't let you take away my friend! High Speed Plug-in B, Activate!" He cried.

The card he'd slashed to buy time wore off a moment later.

**XxXXxX**

Time resumed.

Guilmon felt a familiar power fill him; felt a fraction of his former speed returning.

It didn't change anything. Rinkmon's fist slammed into his face all the same.

He was, after all, not even one ten-millionth of Rinkmon's speed.

All the speed boost accomplished was allow him to draw upon small fragments of his former glory and cling to this world for just a little while longer.

**XxXXxX**

Rinkmon was too fast for Guilmon; Takato knew that much. The ten year old didn't quite grasp what 'ninety-eight percent the speed of light' meant, but he knew it was really fast.

If Guilmon was to have any hope of winning, he had to be fast, too.

"High Speed Plug-in H, Activate!" He said. "Speedup Food, Activate! High Speed Attack, Activate!"

**XxXXxX**

Blow after blow fell upon him and Guilmon was unable to stop the torrent. A right hook took him in the chin, an elbow sank into his stomach, an uppercut connected with his jaw, and if someone had asked, he would not have been able to tell them which order they connected in. All thoughts of them faded in the following torrent of blows, however, so it didn't matter.

He could feel what his Tamer was trying to do, even as each card called out to his former glory and dragged back a tiny scrap, allowing, by some miracle, him to stay in one form as a pathetic imitation of the Ulforce tried to heal his wounds. He could feel as each card chipped at the wall that separated him from the Royal Knights he was, making him faster then he should; faster than these cards should make him by far!

But it didn't matter.

Rinkmon grabbed him by the neck and swung him, releasing him only when he'd be sure to slam into a tree. It was, if anything, a relief, for Rinkmon did not attack even once during his two second flight. If he had, Guilmon would have been unable to resist.

It could not be helped.

He was not even one millionth as fast as Rinkmon was.

**XxXXxX**

"Angemon's Wing!" Takato slashed, a bit unsurely.

He'd used all the speed boosting cards that had been 'tested.' He—they—were officially in unknown territory now.

**XxXXxX**

The battle came to a temporary halt as Guilmon suddenly sprouted a single white wing.

Guilmon glanced at it incredulously and Rinkmon tilted his head in confusion.

It glowed slightly and flapped feebly, but as it was but one wing, it accomplished little, but to slightly alter his course in mid-air, preventing him from hitting the tree.

Rinkmon blinked at it once. Twice.

The he covered the distance between them and punched Guilmon in the face, slamming it into the Earth.

Guilmon could feel the speed it granted him, but it was pointless. His power was returning more quickly with every card, but he was only just slightly more than a millionth as fast as Rinkmon.

_Takato…I'm trying, but…_

**XxXXxX**

"Accelerator, Activate!" Takato shouted, a bit desperately. "Beast's Instinct, Activate!"

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon tried to swing one claw at his attacker, but Rinkmon backed off in an instant.

He surprised the Child Digimon, however, when he didn't continue his attack.

He wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, so he took the opportunity to scramble to his feet.

He took stock of himself.

He'd been hit. A lot. It would be easier to list where he _hadn't_ been hit: Nowhere.

He winced and moved on. He was able to use the Ulforce, sort of, but it was such a pathetic imitation of the real thing. If he had the true version, he wouldn't even be in pain right now.

Of course, if he had the real thing, he'd be UlforceV-dramon, and it'd be piñata day again.

In addition, he was panting. Hard. Or rather, harder then he should, even considering his beating. He wasn't sure why—

Oh, Guilmon realized.

The cards. They put a strain on his body; he must not have noticed it underneath the beating he was getting. If he was a normal Child Digimon, he would probably be dead by now from the strain alone.

But then, if he was normal, he'd be dead for a lot of reasons.

As such: _Abnormality, fuck yeah_.

"You…" Rinkmon suddenly drew his attention.

Guilmon blinked at what he saw.

"You are…how are you getting faster!" Rinkmon demanded.

There was fear in his eyes.

Guilmon blinked again and smirked, a plan forming in his head.

**XxXXxX**

The battle had come to a standstill, but Takato wasn't sure why; he could not hear through his Digivice, only see through Guilmon's eyes. He wasn't optimistic enough to think the battle was over though, so he continued to search for the right cards.

He knew he had more speed boosting cards! He had to! His partner's life literally depended on it!

Even though he'd had no way of knowing how badly it would matter, he still cursed himself for not organizing his cards better.

There!

"Digimental of Friendship, Activate!" He said.

Some small part of him silently wondered if Guilmon would evolve.

The rest was too busy keeping his friend alive to care.

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon nearly purred as he felt another card get slashed, and he felt his speed increase again. It was a slight increase—so very slight in the face of the mountain called Rinkmon—but it was an increase nonetheless.

And then, strangely, a strand of information filled his head; a Code. An Evolutionary Code, he guessed, mentally frowning, but it was incompatible with his structural data. If he had been a V-mon, then maybe he could have used it, but as he was—as Guilmon—this code was useless to him—

A thought struck him and he examined the Code again, this time more carefully.

He shifted his gaze to Rinkmon, looking at him considering.

Hm…Maybe not.

Even if he couldn't use it to evolve…

He could think of a few uses for the informational data of the Digimental of Friendship.

He started working, silently writing a piece of code.

He wanted to smirk at Rinkmon and to mock him; taunting him with what was soon to come.

But he'd need time, so he refrained.

"How do you think I'm getting faster, Rinkmon?" He asked instead, giving his opponent a smile that held nothing but teeth. "I wonder…could you have forgotten who you're fighting?"

Rinkmon held all the cards. He was so much faster that the simple difference in speed alone would decide this fight.

Even so, he swallowed.

"I-impossible." Rinkmon stated, but he sounded unsure, even to himself.

"Impossible?" Guilmon asked. "For UlforceV-dramon to run fast? Are you _retarded_, Rinkmon?"

Rinkmon flinched, whereas before he would have been enraged.

Guilmon's smirk widened, showing off more and more teeth. He took a moment to enjoy Rinkmon's discomfort at the sight and continued.

"I've been getting faster ever since we began fighting. Couldn't you tell? Can't you _feel_ it, Rinkmon? My power's returning; bit by bit, it's coming back to me." He said, and it was true, though he left out the reason why it was true. "I'm surprised you didn't notice; I would have thought you would cower in fear of this power."

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?" The Armor Digimon demanded.

Guilmon shrugged.

"I suppose I don't know. Are you?" He asked challengingly.

Rinkmon snarled.

But he didn't resume the fight.

Guilmon chuckled.

_I'll believe in you, Takato. I'll believe that, together, we can win this, even if I can't outrun him. So please…don't let me down now!_

He took a deep breath and continued on.

This was a dangerous gamble and he knew it.

But he'd meant it.

He believed in Takato.

"Why are you so scared, Rinkmon?" He asked. "I am not even one hundred thousandth as fast as –ugh!"

It hurt.

Whatever was happening to him hurt so much.

But it took all his will to keep from laughing in happiness.

_I knew I could trust you, Takato._

It might be true, Guilmon thought. That saying.

How'd it go?

Who dares, wins?

**XxXXxX**

"Found 'em!" Takato said happily. "Dragon Wing, Activate! Dragon Wings, Activate!"

The two cards, two of his best speed boosting cards, so similar and yet, so different, slide smoothly through his Digivice.

Perhaps it was just him, but…

He thought he heard a thank you.

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon's back bulged, as if a full grown man was trying to struggle out.

Two cards, his data told him. Both with the same effect; increasing the speed of Digimon with Dragon Data. The one causing him the most pain was called Dragon Wings.

Guilmon screamed as the two 'wings' tore themselves out of his back. They were made of metal, with sharpened blades replacing bone. Each 'bone' was straight and connected to another 'bone' by some purple material. Despite being called wings, it was obvious that they would be of no use for flying.

The other card, Dragon Wing, showed no visible effect, but it was playing havoc with his data, though it hurt less.

Even so, he was forced to face the truth.

The stress of all these cards was getting to even him.

Even so, he laughed.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. What I should have said was 'I'm not even one ten-thousandth as fast as you.'" He corrected himself.

Rinkmon was beginning to appear nervous.

**XxXXxX**

Takato would have empathized with the feeling he'd been aware of it. He was getting nervous, too.

The Reason was simple. He was running out of Speed cards.

A few more and he'd be out and—

He had to face facts—

There was absolutely no chance of him being able to make Guilmon as fast as Rinkmon.

He needed a new plan and he needed it now.

Maybe he'd been stupid from the beginning; trying to beat one of the fastest Digimon at their own game.

Instead, perhaps he should have just…changed the rules.

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon flexed the claws of one of his hands and then swept it at the air.

It was a blur of motion that the human eye could not hope to follow.

But it would not impress Rinkmon.

To Rinkmon, it must have looked slow.

But it must have been a hell of a lot fast then at the beginning.

Speed alone would not impress Rinkmon.

But fear is born within the mind.

"Look at me, Rinkmon." Guilmon said, smirking. "I'm getting faster—"

**XxXXxX**

Takato shifted through the pile of cards. Most of them were useless to him at the moment—hell, some of them were just useless in general—but occasionally, he found one of the cards that he could use and set it aside.

And sometimes he found cards that could help, but weren't part of the plan he'd made. He kept those cards by him, ready in case he was forced to adjust to the situation.

He picked up another card, but paused before sorting it. It was certainly useful, but he didn't put it aside.

"Fastest Bliga, Activate!" Takato said. It was just another speed boosting card, making it fairly useless; Guilmon still wouldn't be remotely fast enough to fight Rinkmon.

But he slashed it anyway, because something told him to—a little voice in the back of his head that sounded like Guilmon.

**XxXXxX**

"—And faster—" Guilmon continued, feathers growing down the back of his neck.

**XxXXxX**

Takato licked his lips as he put the used card aside. He had almost all the cards he needed and a number he thought could be useful. He only needed to find a few more and he'd be ready.

From there…he'd have to hope it would be enough.

He looked at the remaining unsorted cards. There weren't many; Takato was proud to say that he remembered what all of his cards could do. He glanced at the name and sorted them appropriately. He discarded two Child level cards, an Adult card, and an Armor. He did the same to two option cards when the third caught his eye.

He looked at the two cards in his other hand, cards similar in effect that he'd already found. He slashed both of them immediately.

"Hound's Collar, Activate! Mach Booster, Activate!" He said, though it was futile.

He couldn't hope to make Guilmon as fast as Rinkmon.

But that was fine.

Soon, it wouldn't matter.

**XxXXxX**

"—And—ugh—" Guilmon tried to finish, but he was cut off by a bulge in his throat. It wrapped all the way around his neck, covered, for a moment, by his red hide.

And then six metal spikes extended from it in a flash, piercing through his skin. There was a sound like the ripping of fabric a moment later, as Guilmon's skin pulled away from it.

It shouldn't hurt this much, he thought to himself. But he was using too many cards. They were starting to hurt him, not just as a side effect, but actively.

His eyes widened suddenly as another bulge appeared on his back, below the Dragon Wings—literally underneath them, pushing them up. As the Collar before it, two bladelike 'arms' suddenly extended out of him, through his flesh. Data gathered at the ends, forming—

Jet turbines?

Yes, partially hidden beneath his Wings was a pair a jet turbine.

_Oh_, Guilmon thought. _I must look like a freak at this point. Metal wings, an angel wing, a collar, feathers, and jet engines. I should file a complaint to the makers of these cards._

Even so, he swallowed down the pain and straightened his back.

"And faster." He finished, panting.

There was one upside to his freakish appearance, though:

Rinkmon's face was twisting in fear and disgust.

"All throughout this fight, I've been getting closer and closer to defeating you and you were just too blind to see it." Guilmon continued. "It brings back memories, doesn't it? It's just like last time, you ran around, arrogantly thinking yourself unbeatable, and you never even noticed how much danger you were in until I was upon you."

It was a bluff. He wasn't even close to being fast enough to beat Rinkmon, yet.

The keyword being yet.

He just needed a little more time.

_Takato_…

**XxXXxX**

The young boy looked at the remaining card in his hand; his last speed boosting card.

He was going to slash it, of course. If anything, it was odd that he hadn't slashed it _yet_.

But he couldn't help but think about it after he'd first saw its name.

'An End to Recklessness.'

Quite possibly his best speed card.

But its name was so fitting it hurt.

He'd been reckless.

That wasn't self-depreciation; it was simply the truth.

He'd been reckless.

When he'd seen the look in Guilmon's eyes—after he'd heard his words and the tone in his voice—he'd rushed home. He'd noticed his parents were gone, no doubt out looking for him, but had paid that fact no mind. He'd just rushed up to his room and pulled out every card he'd had.

Some of the best cards in the game had been laid out before him and what had he done?

He'd grabbed every speed boosting card he saw and slashed them, one after another. He'd seen what they had done against Gorimon and focused on them completely, to the exclusion of all else.

The first one hadn't worked.

He'd slashed three more.

The second, third, and fourth hadn't worked either.

He'd slashed a fifth.

He had slashed thirteen speed boosting cards already and this would be the fourteenth.

He hadn't thought he'd been that stupid; that it would take him _ten tries_ to realize his plan wasn't working.

But he was.

He was stupid, foolish, and oh so reckless.

He'd just continued on, slashing card after card, even though they weren't working.

He'd said he wasn't going to abandon his friend, hadn't he?

What a joke.

He might as well have let him fight this battle alone; he hadn't done anything.

He'd given his partner speed—not enough, nowhere near enough, but he'd given his partner _speed_—but so what?

He'd given Guilmon pathetic weapons and let him fight Rinkmon all by himself.

'Here Guilmon; you can do everything by yourself from here on, right?' He might as well have said.

He clinched a hand into a fist.

Could he call even himself a Tamer? Had he really helped? He had all the things he needed to protect his partner, but he just continued on like a fool!

But not anymore.

_I'm sorry Guilmon. For being a failure. I'm a pretty pathetic Tamer, aren't I? I'm not strong. I'm not smart, either. But…let me try again._

He lifted the card and slashed it in a single, smooth movement.

_This is the last one. This is the last speed boosting card I have. After this, I can't make you any faster. But that's okay. I'm not going to do it anymore. I'm not going to make you do all the work anymore, Guilmon. I couldn't make you fast enough to beat Rinkmon, but that doesn't matter. Even if you can't win…_

"An End to Recklessness, Activate!"

He gave the card one last look before letting it go.

…_I'll win for you._

Takato's last speed card drifted to the ground as he reached for the few remaining cards.

He still needed a few more cards.

**XxXXxX**

"Ur…gh…gak…" Guilmon tried unsuccessfully to muffle the sounds as another wave of pain washed over him, but they were torn from his throat.

His arms and legs were the target of the sensation this time, and he kept enough of himself together to thank God for sparing his back any more punishment.

Then the pain increased and washed the thought away.

He was only vague aware of what was happening as vaguely circular bulges appeared all over his arms and legs. Not even his hands and feet were spared; similar bulges appeared on his palms and the bottoms of his feet.

He barely had time to wonder what they were before the wheels broke through his skin; whereas, normally, cards would simply draw upon the spare useless data within him, he'd run out of such things long since. As such, they were directly converting his structural data. As with the collar and wings before them, his body healed quickly around them.

He was bowed by the pain in that moment, though he refused to scream.

"You…"

It was Rinkmon, naturally.

He should really be paying attention to him.

He moved his eyes even as he gasped for breath like a dying man.

Rinkmon was staring at him in horror.

"What the hell are you!" The Armor Digimon demanded.

Guilmon continued panting for a few seconds, partially because of the pain and partially because he still needed more time.

"Would it be cliché to say 'your worst nightmare'?" He wondered after feeling a bit better.

He took a moment to take stock of his new editions. The Mach Booster's were interesting and, now that the pain was dying down, so were the wheels. Since he had them on his hands, was he supposed to use them on all fours?

He silently wondered how fast he could go now.

"You are…" Rinkmon continued. "An abomination."

Guilmon had to admit, he probably looked like a freak at this point, even by Digimon standards.

He felt no need to say so out loud, though.

Instead, he braced himself for what he knew was about to come. He'd bought himself a lot of time; far longer then he'd expected to. He'd have to thank Takato for his good timing, even if those cards hurt like a bitch.

But he still wasn't done.

Rinkmon glared at him beneath his mask.

"I'm going to kill you. This has gone on long enough; I'd have to be an idiot to let you get any faster."

The Guilmon's engines whirled to life as he narrowed his eyes.

**XxXXxX**

Takato finished organizing his cards and spread the cards he'd need out before him. He could see that things were starting up again, though he still couldn't hear anything.

The loss of that one sense put him at a surprising disadvantage in this case. He'd never been aware of how much he relied on that sense, but he might as well have been rendered blind. He couldn't keep track of RInkmon's movements nor hear what anyone was saying.

But he'd just have to make due.

First things first; he needed to do something to slow down Rinkmon, literally or figuratively. He had a plan, but it wouldn't be of much use against someone they couldn't even catch.

For that, he would use these three cards.

He was tempted to use the strongest one first, but logic told him not too. He wasn't playing the game where things obeyed defined rules; he had no way of knowing how the effects of this card would manifest.

He slashed the weakest of the trio, instead.

**XxXXxX**

It happened fast, naturally.

There was a sound like a purr and a roaring engine on one side and the simple cutting of air on the other. They didn't meet in the middle, as they would have in an action movie, however; Rinkmon was still much faster than Guilmon. They met when Guilmon had taken but a few steps.

Guilmon didn't even try to dodge; he was but one thousandth of Rinkmon's speed.

Rinkmon threw a punch to his face and it connected. It might have even connected multiple times. Guilmon tried to return the favor, but his hand was batted aside in an instant and another blow connected with his face. He tried to use one of his Techniques, spitting a simple blast of fire at his opponent, but Rinkmon thrust forth one hand into the flames and blew it apart from the inside with quick circular motions and then delivered a kick to Guilmon's gaping jaw before he could close it.

Guilmon decreased the power of one of his turbines, spinning himself counter-clockwise with the kick, and lashing out with his tail but Rinkmon simply leapt over it.

Perfect.

Guilmon raked the ground with his right claw as he continued his turn, throwing shrapnel at the airborne Rinkmon.

"Quadruple Storm!" Rinkmon countered, gesturing with his hands. Four tornados sprang into existence around Guilmon and promptly converged on him, catching the debris in the process.

Guilmon suddenly found himself being lifted into the air. He immediately closed his eyes to protect them from the attack and the shrapnel that had been drawn within it, but also moved to turn the attack to his favor. Flaring his turbines and spreading his wings, he tore himself from the grasp of the winds, gliding, for the moment, on his wings and the power of his engines.

Rinkmon looked up suddenly and seemed surprised to find a flying dinosaur.

Guilmon didn't hesitate for even a second before taking advantage of that surprise. He rained down fireballs. He spat them out as fast as he could, to the point that his throat began to hurt.

It accomplished nothing.

Rinkmon had been surprised, yes.

But you'd been amazed how fast you can recover when you move near the speed of light.

"Spinning Cutter!"

He spun like the figure skater he resembled and as each fireball drew near, each was also snuffed out.

His spin came to a sudden halt and the Digimon grinned viciously up at Guilmon. Guilmon understood; Rinkmon could have dodged those attacks. He was just making a point about the difference that still existed between them.

"Quadruple Storm!" Rinkmon continued.

Four tornados appeared, as before.

Around _Rinkmon_.

They converged and lifted him high into the air, as they had done to Guilmon before. However, the sudden change in the winds threw Guilmon's flight path off, something made even worse by the fact that he'd been flying in the direction of the storm to begin with.

He could not keep himself from being sucked into the tornado.

Inside, he was thrown around roughly by the winds and blinded once again. He tried to recover enough to escape, but he didn't even get a chance.

The storm suddenly halted.

There was a single, drawn-out moment of confusion as Guilmon opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a grinning Rinkmon.

And he was _close_.

Within Guilmon's reach.

Which meant, naturally, that he was also in Rinkmon's reach.

Shit.

"Spinning Cutter!"

He couldn't dodge.

Rinkmon was too fast, he was in midair, he was off balance, he was taken by surprise; there were many reasons he could have given, but the result remained the same.

He could not dodge this attack.

And that simple fact might just be the end of him.

_Takato, if you can hear me, I could use another miracle right about now._

**XxXXxX**

"Slow Speed Worm, Activate!"

**XxXXxX**

Time Dilated.

It wasn't by much, but Guilmon was—had been, at least—an expert on such things. He could tell the instant Rinkmon's speed relative to his own changed.

He was still fast.

He was still so monstrously fast.

But he was not _as_ fast and wasn't that the point?

He'd been millions of times faster than him, once.

But not right now.

One by one, with each card, the distance between then had shrunk. And once, it would not have mattered. Once—when the difference was in millions, hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands—once, it wouldn't have mattered, this slight change.

But now, the difference was in mere hundreds.

And it mattered.

Rinkmon spun through the air and Guilmon could see the storm of him; he could bear witness as he tore the air apart with his limbs

And once, Guilmon wouldn't have been able to dodge.

Once, he would have been helpless to do anything but die.

Once.

But not now.

In the face of that storm, he reacted.

It's a small reaction; a lean backwards, a slight flare of his engines.

It's not enough to save him completely. The blades on Rinkmon's arms cut along his body.

He's hurt, badly.

Truly, this really is the attack of a higher level Digimon.

Yes, he's hurt.

But not one of the attacks struck deep enough to kill and he will heal.

He stood before the storm and survived it.

And then that storm suddenly came to a halt.

Rinkmon hung in the air for a moment and then began to fall, looking baffled at him all the way down.

"How did you…?" He asked.

"Fireball!" Was the only response Guilmon had.

That seemed to snap Rinkmon out of whatever daze he'd found himself in.

"Quadruple Storm!"

**XxXXxX**

The four tornados would converge on the airborne Guilmon a moment later.

It didn't matter.

Even before Rinkmon had attacked—the instant he'd seen that Guilmon had survived Rinkmon's previous attack, in fact—Takato had swept three cards.

**XxXXxX**

The red dinosaur—though he'd been mutated into something very different at this point—was swallowed up by the twisting winds. Before Rinkmon's satisfied eyes, he dissolved into particles of data. He batted away the fireball with an absent backhand.

He'd won, he thought.

It was over.

And then the ground behind him exploded.

A blur of red tore from the dust, zigzagging towards Rinkmon's unprotected back.

**XxXXxX**

Three cards, in order.

Ground Seventh, to let Guilmon survive underground.

Alias, to get him to the surface a distance away, where he could then dig beneath.

And the third, 'Surprise Attack From Underground.'

Takato didn't know for sure what it would do. In the game, it caused a doubling of a Digimon's offensive power in certain circumstances.

But this wasn't the game.

But he no longer had time to question such things.

He wanted it to work like the card, and so he used it without hesitation.

There were only two things that mattered now.

There was a direction—forward—and there was how fast he could run in it.

He had no use for self-doubts.

**XxXXxX**

Rinkmon reacted faster than a lightning bolt, stepping aside and then lashing out at his attacker.

But reacting fast was not the same as reacting well.

When someone reacts to an attack, there are four things they are likely to do.

One is to freeze, another is to dodge, and the other two are to block or counterattack.

Rinkmon was too good a fighter to freeze. Besides, he relied on his speed so much, he wouldn't give it up, even unconsciously.

That's why he wouldn't block, either.

Then it was a question of whether he would dodge or counterattack; or rather, which would he do first. He was fast enough to do both, but which reaction would hold precedence?

And the answer was obvious. After all, Guilmon had fought him before, if in a 'past life.'

He would dodge. Then, he would counterattack.

But there would be a pause caused by the time it took him to realize there was an attack, dodge it, make sure he was really safe, find and opening, and then counterattack.

And pauses could be taken advantage of.

Guilmon knew this; had thought of it and planned for it.

So when he roared out of the dust, engines flaring, wheels skidding along the ground, and breaking the sound barrier so many times over it wasn't even funny and Rinkmon just side stepped him, he wasn't surprised.

He wasn't even disappointed.

Not even when Rinkmon countered with a left hook that would connect with his snout.

In fact, he was pleased.

Rinkmon had just walked into a trap.

The ground beneath Guilmon's feet rippled like water as he tilted slightly downwards. And indeed, he sank into it as if it were a liquid—if a very viscous one.

Before Rinkmon's surprised eyes, he sank a foot into the ground and Rinkmon's attack went right over his head.

Guilmon rolled one foot forward, back to the surface, and this time it didn't sink back in.

He reared back a hand.

One punch.

At the very least, he was punching Rinkmon in the face once.

Rinkmon noticed, of course, and tried to step back.

Guilmon didn't let him.

The ground rippled beneath him and Rinkmon sank in to his ankles.

Ground Seventh's effect was simple.

The Digimon it was being used on, the Digimon it was being used against, or both, gain the power to move underground, as decided by the Digimon it was used on.

Guilmon had known that.

Rinkmon hadn't.

And unlike Rinkmon, who hadn't known that when he counterattacked and had missed as a result, Guilmon had known this was coming.

He'd known even before he was out of the ground.

And he wasn't going to miss.

His hand moved forward as he looked the shock in Rinkmon's eyes.

Shock which was rapidly giving way to fear.

There was only one thing to say.

"Surprise, bitch!"

Well, maybe two.

"Rock Breaker to the face!" He added as his attack connected.

Honestly, the entire thing was satisfying. He connected with Rinkmon's mouth and the flesh around it rippled. Rinkmon was made to move with the punch, even as it sank deeper into his face.

Rickmon's feet were torn from the ground as was flung back.

The cracking sound he heard when sound finally caught up was very nice to hear, too, especially after the beating he'd been taking.

The sound of his body hitting the ground was almost as good.

This, Guilmon thought, is a memory I will treasure forever.

**XxXXxX**

Takato blinked, looking at the screen.

Had they won? Just like that?

Relief and disbelief warred momentarily.

No, he thought, crushing them.

He couldn't be sure they'd won yet.

And if they had, Guilmon would handle it.

He had his own job to do.

**XxXXxX**

For a moment, the park was silent.

Well, except for Guilmon's heavy breathing, the cries of the startled birds that hadn't had a chance to escape due to the sheer speed of the battle, and the city noises not too far away.

Guilmon frowned, glancing at the ground.

For a moment, it wasn't as loud as it could have been, he corrected himself.

It was a pleasant moment.

And then Rinkmon brutally crushed it when he started laughing.

Guilmon growled.

"Thank you." His enemy said between slightly maddened giggles.

Guilmon paused and then looked at him in complete confusion.

Rinkmon pushed himself up so that he was sitting on the ground, but he didn't lift his head so Guilmon couldn't see his eyes. He didn't try to stand, either.

"Thank you." Rinkmon repeated.

This time Guilmon replied.

"For what?" He asked, confused and growing nervous.

"I needed that," Rinkmon replied. "To clear my head. I was acting stupid. You thought I was stupid, too, right? I totally was; I was acting like a total idiot."

Guilmon was outright frowning.

Rinkmon just continued his insane ramble.

"And you're right. I am afraid of you. Or at least, I'm afraid of UlfroceV-dramon." Rinkmon admitted honestly.

His next words froze Guilmon to the core.

"Which is probably why I swallowed that bullshit you fed me about your power returning." Rinkmon said. "And maybe there's a bit of truth to that. Maybe your power is coming back a bit. But you sure as hell aren't regaining shit."

Rinkmon smirked.

"It's being given, isn't it?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Rinkmon?" Guilmon asked, trying to play things cool. "Who would I get power from?"

Rinkmon put his hands over his face and dragged them down it.

"That's why I was stupid." He said. "I forgot everything else and focused completely on you. I automatically assumed you were the only threat to me and thus the only thing that mattered. You're right; this is just like last time. I thought I was unbeatable and didn't notice I'd made a mistake until it was staring me in the face."

Guilmon fought to keep worry and fear off his face.

Rinkmoon suddenly stood in a smooth motion that was little more than a flicker to Guilmon's eyes.

"I'd forgotten where I am." Rinkmon admitted. "That was my first and biggest mistake. I forgot that I was in the South now, not the West."

Rinkmon gazed to the Earth's West, as if he could see his home.

"Oh, we have so many rumors about the South back home." Rinkmon said, wistfully. "Baihumon-sama rarely speaks of it, except in disgust. It's said that Zhuqiaomon-sama made his world as harsh as he could to promote strength. It's said that Digimon there are the strongest in all the Quadrants…and the fewest. It's said that they kill each other and load each other's data for power. But…sometimes, we hear things about the South that's not about Digimon."

Rinkmon turned his head back to Guilmon.

"It's said that Digimon there can partner with a human and draw power from them. Not just to evolve, either; some say that they can give the ability to use the attacks of any Digimon they want. It's said they can make you stronger and faster than any normal Digimon and heal your wounds and cause strange things to happen. I thought it was bullshit."

He tilted his head to the side, looking at Guilmon's many 'additions.'

"I guess I was wrong." He said.

"Ridiculous." Guilmon tried to bluff. "Do you think I would partner with a human?"

"Yes." Rinkmon replied, calling it. "I think you would sink low enough to do so. And I can't blame you; for power like that…oh, I'd do the same in a heartbeat."

Rinkmon grinned.

"They talk about that, too, you know. About Digimon being willing to kill to get a chance at having a Tamer."

He laughed again.

"You know, you're really fast. I mean, really, really fast." He said, suddenly changing the subject. "I have never seen a Child move as fast as you. The power of a Tamer is truly impressive. But…you still can't outrun me. I bet if I ran, you wouldn't be able to catch up."

"Is that what you're going to do?" Guilmon asked, now feeling scared but not knowing why and refusing to show it. "Run?"

Mercurymon's Servant hummed to himself.

"I wonder…"

He nodded to himself.

"Yeah." Rinkmon said. "I think I _will_ run. Just into town, though. I'm…curious."

Suddenly, he was inches away from Guilmon's face.

"If I kill your Tamer…will your power go away?"

Guilmon was glad he didn't have a heart.

If he did, it might have stopped at those words.

"I have no Tamer." He growled immediately.

Rinkmon seemed to think about that for a moment.

"I don't think I believe you." He replied. "But I suppose I have no way of knowing for sure, huh?"

He backed up a few steps in a flash, still looking contemplative.

"I suppose that I'll know after they're dead, though." He decided.

Confusion rejoined fear.

"Even if I had a human partner," Guilmon said slowly, mind racing. "How would you even know who it was?"

He shouldn't be able to know.

He'd never seen Takato and there shouldn't be anything connecting him and his Tamer. Nothing Rinkmon should be able to sense, anyway.

Rinkmon confirmed his thoughts a moment later.

"I have no clue." He admitted.

Suddenly, a smile was on his face.

"But Digimon are usually partnered to children, right?"

Guilmon's eyes widened as he realized what his enemy was going to do.

"No…Rinkmon, no! This is between you and me! They have nothing to do with this!"

Rinkmon continued as if he hadn't said a word.

"So, I should be able to get 'em, right?"

Rinkmon vanished, moving so much faster than sound that it wasn't until after his departure that Guilmon heard his last sentence.

"…If I just…kill every child in that city."

Guilmon cursed and ran after him.

It was useless, though.

He was not even one hundredth as fast as Rinkmon.

**XxXXxX**


	3. Second Window: God Steps II

**Open Windows**

**Second Window: God Steps**

**Part Two: Relativity**

**XxXXxX**

Takato looked down at his Digivice in confused uncertainty.

Was Rinkmon …running?

Why?

He'd been _winning_!

With some smart card usage, Takato had managed to hit him—well, to let Guilmon hit him, at least.

Once.

But only once and Takato knew that trick wasn't going to be working again. He was going to need to try something different each time; that was why he'd prepared so many cards. And even with all of them, Takato fully expected an uphill battle.

Surely Rinkmon must have known that as well. But if he did, why was he running?

Had he been scared off by that one hit?

But then…

Why was Guilmon chasing him?

"It's because Rinkmon's not running." A voice said behind him.

Only Takato was alone in his room.

Or he _should_ have been.

Takato whirled around as fast as he could.

And then he blinked in stunned surprise.

There was a knight in his room. A real, actual knight with shining armor and a red cape and everything. He had a red, draconic visor and Takato saw symbols like the one of Guilmon's chesk on his armor.

A moment later, Takato blinked again, because being a knight still didn't explain why he was in his room.

"Who are—" He began to ask.

The knight cut him off with a dismissive gesture.

"A projection from your Digivice." He answered calmly. "Or rather, a virus in your Digivice that's causing a projection. I suppose you could further clarify that I'm a manifestation of the Hazard. But none of that matters."

The Knight was suddenly beside him. Not knowing that he'd just switched the location of his projection, Takato was surprised by his speed and nearly jumped in surprise.

"Rinkmon is trying to kill you." The Knight said without preamble.

Takato simply stared at him for a moment.

What did he just say? He thought.

And then the words hit home.

Takato's eyes widened.

"M-me?"

The knight simply nodded.

"Wha—b-but—"

But if he tries to kill me, I'll have no choice but to die. He wanted to say.

The Knight extended a hand towards the cards Takato had set aside as useless. He placed a finger on it, but didn't move it, for obvious reasons.

Takato reached for it and looked at it.

"This is…?" He frowned in confusion.

"If you slash that card, you'll be…safe."

Takato noticed the pause and had to ask.

"Really? I'll be safe?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

What followed was a short empty silence.

It dragged forth words from the knight.

"No, I suppose not." The Knight closed his eyes then, almost sadly. "The moment you became my Tamer, I took away any hope of safety you might have had."

_Became his Tamer?_ Takato wanted to ask. _But he wasn't his Tamer. He was Guilmon's._

Then the Knight's eyes opened and they were hard and resolved.

"But if you slash that card, I can at least ensure that you survive today."

But Takato was already thinking of something else.

"How does Rinkmon even know where I am?" He asked.

The knight lapsed into silence again and bowed his head so that Takato could not see his eyes.

"Tell me." Takato insisted, feeling this was important.

"…He doesn't." The Knight said, but it was obvious he didn't want to.

Takato blinked at that answer.

"Then how…?"

"He's going to kill people until he finds you." The Knight replied. "He knows you're probably a child and that's enough for him to act on. This city's children will die. Every single one of them."

"Die?" Takato said, horrified and hardly able to believe this. "B-because of me?"

"No!" The Knight instantly denied. "Not because of you! It's because of Rinkmon! He's a monster and he always has been! He tormented the people of the West so much that we had to send a Royal Knight to deal with him!"

An armored hand became and armored fist and then suddenly relaxed, as if all the life went out of it.

"And…it's because of us, too." He admitted. "If we had killed Rinkmon…if we hadn't let the Twelve…if we just hadn't come here, then you…none of you would be dying right now!"

He looked at Takato and there was shame and pain in his eyes.

"Takato, I can't stop Rinkmon. Not before he kills a lot of people. But…please slash that card, so that I can at least save you." He pleaded.

Takato looked down at the card and then back up at the knight.

"If I slashed this card," Takato asked. "All those people would die."

The knight couldn't deny that.

"And…what about Guilmon? Would he be safe, too?" He wondered.

His hand clenched around his Digivice.

"No, even if he was safe, it wouldn't be okay. I can't just let those people die and…I don't think Guilmon could either. So…even if we left, we wouldn't be okay. Doing something like that…I think…for us…that's worse than just dying."

He looked at the knight with eyes that were too serious for a child. And behind those eyes was a mind making choices children shouldn't have to make.

"So…I can't run." Takato said. "_We_ can't run. I know I'm just a kid, but…to protect all the innocent people in this city…I won't run, even if it costs me my life."

The knight met his gaze for a long moment and then closed his eyes. He nodded slightly.

"As expected from our Tamer." He said. "You are kind and brave to the point of stupidity."

Takato got the feeling he was smiling under that helmet.

"But I'm…glad." The knight continued. "It's weird, but I'm glad. That you didn't run. I'm upset and angry and terrified, but…I'm really happy that you would do this to protect innocent people, even if you know you'll die. Goodbye, Takato."

He was about to disappear when Takato shook his head.

"No." Takato said.

The Knight blinked slowly.

"No?" He asked, not understanding.

"I'm…not going to die." Takato said. "_He_ is. I'm not going to let him continue this anymore. I'm going to stop him. _We're_ going to stop him."

"…How?"

"You…" Takato ignored the question in favor of asking his own. "Why did you come here? Why did you ask me to run and even show me the way out?"

The knight was silent for a moment, as if not understanding the question.

"Because…loyalty to one's lord is expected of a knight, isn't it?" The Knight said, sounding confused.

"Then…will you help me again?" Takato asked. "I won't run, but will you help me fight instead?"

"…What do you need of me?"

Takato told him.

"That's insane, suicidal, reckless, and, quite frankly, kind of stupid." The Knight replied immediately.

Takato nodded.

"But do you think it'll work?" He asked.

"…Are you sure about this, Takato?"

"I'm sure. At least…sure enough to put my life on the line. Just…have faith in me for a little while."

"…I'll…need some time to pull it off."

"I'll buy you as long as I can."

**XxXXxX**

He chased Rinkmon, of course. Through unfamiliar streets, across rooftops, around the city he chased him.

He didn't catch him, though.

And Rinkmon left corpses in his wake. Some he cut cleanly. Others were left in visible spots; presents for Guilmon to see.

He looked at each in turn, unwilling to look away from his failure. But then he had to continue the chase.

That's what he told himself.

He didn't want to believe he was running away.

When Guilmon caught up to Rinkmon, it was atop a field of corpses.

"Killing Humans is pretty different from killing Digimon." Rinkmon said, his back to the stunned and horrified Guilmon.

He'd obviously been waiting here for him, or else he wouldn't have been able to catch up.

Which meant this had all been set up just for him.

"Rinkmon, you…" Guilmon whispered, wide eyes taking in the scene.

Rinkmon turned around and smiled.

"They're a lot easier to kill than Digimon, don't you think?" He asked, and Guilmon could that there was no remorse in him. If anything, he sounded bored.

But he hadn't expected any.

Rinkmon had never shown remorse.

But his words planted something within Guilmon; something dark and terrible and wicked.

Wrath.

He would kill Rinkmon, if he could, and he'd enjoy every second of it.

"Rinkmon, you…" Guilmon's pupils narrowed abruptly. "You bastard!"

Rinkmon clicked his tongue.

"Are you sure you should be insulting me?" He questioned. "I mean, I could always just…run off again."

Guilmon fell silent at that and simply seethed for a minute before speaking.

"What do you want?"

Rinkmon smiled at him.

"At the moment? Amusement. Kill all these humans would grow dull quickly, I'm sure; it'll be a long and tedious minute, no doubt. I mean, I've already gotten tired of killing just children, as you can see."

Rinkmon gestured around and Guilmon suppressed a grown. Of course he'd noticed; there were more than just children here. There were adults now, too.

But he didn't believe for a moment that it was just because of boredom.

Rinkmon was making a point; setting the stage for whatever he was about to do next.

"I could butcher everyone in this city." Rinkmon mused, and Guilmon trembled because it was true. "Zhuqaiomon-sama wouldn't care if some humans died. But…there's another way, isn't there?"

Guilmon didn't know what he was talking about.

No; that was incorrect.

Guilmon refused to acknowledge the choice Rinkmon spoke of.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I don't mind killing all these Humans." Rinkmon replied. "But there's only one that I'm after.

Don't say it, Guilmon wanted to scream.

"Tell me where your Tamer is and I'll spare this city." Rinkmon said. "Otherwise, this massacre will continue."

**XxXXxX**

Takato slashed two cards.

"Super Slow Speed Worm, Activate. Slowest Speed Worm, Activate." He said.

Guilmon, I need you buy me a little more time, he thought.

And:

I'm sorry.

**XxXXxX**

Time slowed again.

It wasn't enough; the world around him had become so slow, and even so, it wasn't enough. Time had slowed to a crawl all around him but it wasn't enough!

He wouldn't be able to stop Rinkmon like this; he was but a hundredth of Rinkmon's speed.

Takato's cards accomplished only one thing; they hurt Guilmon.

Not physically; or, perhaps, not just physically. He could barely feel the pain of his body anymore, so what were a few more drops of agony?

They were nothing compared to the pain that struck Guilmon to the core at those cards.

Maybe, Guilmon thought as he felt those cards. Maybe even now, Takato still believes in Guilmon.

And that thought burnt like fire.

Did Takato know Guilmon had failed to protect all these people?

Did Takato know that right now, he was walking in the blood of innocent men, women, and children, who he'd failed to save?

Did Takato know Guilmon couldn't stop Rinkmon?

Did Takato know that it was he who'd brought this death and destruction upon this place?

Those questions raced through his mind and each caused him pain, but there was one more question that made Guilmon want to crawl away and die.

Did Takato know that Guilmon was thinking—honestly thinking—about trading his life away?

No, he probably didn't.

Anger and self-loathing war within Guilmon.

"Rinkmon," Guilmon snarled. "Why are you even asking me this?"

"Didn't I already tell you?" Rinkmon wondered to himself. "Amusement. Watching you struggle with the choice between betraying your friend and the lives of thousands of innocent people is really fun."

Realization struck. Not due to his words, but simply because, in that moment, Guilmon remembered, truly remembered, who he was dealing with.

"You…would actually let them go." Guilmon said, sounding stunned.

An ordinary person wouldn't have noticed, but Guilmon was a former Royal Knight.

He could tell when someone was lying to him.

It was a necessary ability, because a lot of people lied to him.

And he could tell that Rinkmon was honest. And he even knew why, because he also knew Rinkmon.

The lives of these humans…they meant nothing to him. To Rinkmon, people didn't matter if they were weak. He terrorized the Villages of the West, avoiding anyone he couldn't beat, but those weaker than him…

Sometimes he killed them.

Sometimes he didn't.

He decided life and death on a whim.

It was the same here; he couldn't care less whether the humans lived or died. If he had to kill them, that was fine. If he didn't, that was fine too. As he'd said before, he'd probably get bored with killing them eventually.

And that made the choice even worse.

If he'd been talking to Demon and been offered this choice, he could dismiss it easily with the knowledge that Demon wouldn't really let them go.

But Rinkmon would.

Rinkmon really would spare a thousand lives in return for just one; not because he was kind, but simply because he didn't care. To save himself a minute of work, he'd spare a thousand lives; that was how trivial they were to him.

Rinkmon just looked back at him.

And for a moment, it was like Guilmon's world halted.

In that moment, he honestly was sure what to do.

In all his lives, he'd always run forward, looking ahead and never hesitating.

But now, he didn't want to. He didn't want to move forward; he didn't want to make this choice.

And, as if sensing his partner's indecision, Takato made the choice for him.

**XxXXxX**

"…It's done." Said the Holographic Knight.

Takato didn't say anything. His eyes were glued to his Digivice and the scene of horror upon it.

All those innocent people…

His fingers tightened around his Digivice.

_Unforgivable…_

The Knight didn't bother looking at the Digivice; he was already inside it.

He knew exactly what was on it and the sight made his blood boil with rage.

He hated Rinkmon; he despised him and wished for him to die. No! He wanted him to _suffer_!

It was a good thing he was nothing but a hologram; a pale imitation created by the real thing somewhere deep within the mind of Guilmon.

If he'd been real…

The delicate balance that separated the Knight and the Dragon might have been broken in that instant.

But through the anger, he felt something else.

Fear.

Knowing what Rinkmon could do—what he _had_ done—made him afraid; not for himself, but for the boy he stood beside.

Ten years old…

_So young…_

Why was it that a child had to risk his life?

He spoke because of that feeling.

"Last chance to back down."

There was only one answer.

It came as surely as the dawn.

"Do it." Takato said.

**XxXXxX**

All of Tokyo came to a halt when a pillar of light connected Heaven and Earth.

It was huge; a hundred meters across at least and it pierced the sky like a spear.

It was bright; for a minute, Tokyo was illuminated as if by the sun.

And it was blue; the bluest blue you ever would see.

**XxXXxX**

"W-what?" Rinkmon wondered, having been forced to avert his eyes. "What the hell is that!"

Guilmon just stared. He looked into the light and didn't blink—couldn't blink—even as they began to hurt.

He knew what it was; knew with every fiber of his being. He knew in a way that was beyond all doubts and needs for explination.

And it amazed him and awed him and terrified him in a way only Rinkmon had equaled.

_Takato…Oh, Takato…_

He knew what it was.

That was Takato's Light.

**XxXXxX**

And atop the roof of a house across the city, in the Ward of Shinjuku, Takato stood. He held his Digivice in the air and was bathed in its life. It felt like his eyes were burning, even though they were closed. At the center of the light, he felt like he would go blind.

But he had to do this.

He had something to say and this was the only way he knew to say it.

He wouldn't—couldn't—run away. He'd drawn a line inside himself and he had only one direction he could move and it was against the coming tide.

Rinkmon was killing innocent people. He was slaughtering them for no reason other than the fact that, by existing, they have a slight chance of being Guilmon's partner. Rinkmon didn't know who he was or where he was, but he would continue killing until he found out.

Takato couldn't let that happen.

But he had only one way to stop it.

Rinkmon was searching for him.

Well, he was right here.

**XxXXxX**

High above the Buildings of Tokyo, the Pillar began to unfold. Wings spread out from it; blue draconic wings. Their wingspan was enormous—hundreds of meters from tip to tip—but not what drew the most attention to them.

There were words on those wings. Words carving into the blue light as if it were solid; darker patches blemishing its radiance.

It was a challenge directed at one Digimon and it said:

'Come Get Some.'

**XxXXxX**

In the moments following that display, which had stunned Tokyo for nearly a minute and was only now beginning to fade away, Guilmon thought, but did not _say_:

_Damn it, Takato._

He risked a glance at Rinkmon who wasn't even looking at him.

He's attention was completely captured by the fading light.

Seconds ticked by and to Guilmon they felt like hours; though the time dilation might have had something to do with that.

And then Rinkmon spoke.

"Your Tamer is pretty ballsy, huh?" He said.

Shit.

He knows.

Guilmon nearly smacked himself at that thought.

Well _of course_ he knows. Takato had somehow managed to create a _huge pillar of light _announcing his presence. From which _giant blue dragon wings_ extended, upon which had been written a challenging message.

You would literally have to be blind to miss it.

What's more, Rinkmon knew enough about UlforceV-dramon to recognize those wings for what they were, too.

What happens now? Guilmon wondered.

From a certain point of view, things were better now. Takato had decided to give his life to protect the people of this city and no more of them needed to get hurt. It was a heroic act of self-sacrifice.

Takato would die, Guilmon would follow him shortly into the grave, and no more innocent people would need to get hurt.

It should have been fine that way.

But things were different now.

Takato had been willing to give his life of his own free will where Guilmon had, in a moment of weakness, been weighing the possibility of trading it—_trading it_, even though it was not _his_.

That light—Takato's Light—had blown away more than the darkness with its arrival.

Guilmon's doubts and hesitations had been erased as well. And it was like something that had been covering his eyes had been removed.

He'd been afraid of moving forward, he realized.

For the first time in his existence, he'd been honestly afraid of moving forward. He'd been afraid of making hard choices.

He'd heard that he had only two options and he'd halted in his tracks. He'd heard that it was Takato or the city and that choice had frozen him in place.

_What the hell had he been thinking?_

He was a Knight. A _Royal Knight_. It was his _job_ to protect the innocent and the weak.

_What right did he have to even consider trading their lives?_

Doubt and hesitation had been replaced by shame and disgust.

_Takato, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I nearly…you…oh, God, I'm pathetic. But I won't make any excuses; not when I can still make up for my mistakes._

He'd been so horrified by the two options that he had been presented that he'd failed to even try looking for another one.

"Yeah," He said, finally replying to Rinkmon's question. There was no longer any point in trying to hide Takato, for he would not hide away. The pride in his voice was just as impossible to hide. "He is."

He'd failed to look for any other options.

But now, he could see it. Illuminated by Takato's Light, he could see another way.

And there was one.

"You realize I'm going to go kill him now, right?" Rinkmon asked. "And then I'm going to kill you."

There was one other option, but fear and indecision had _blinded_ him. He'd known it was an option, but he'd never had the faith to actually think 'this is possible.' Not just as a passing thought or an impossible dream but as 'something I can do.'

"Not…" Guilmon began, eyes and resolve hardening.

But it was there.

It had always been there.

"…If I kill you first!"

Rinkmon was long gone, but he was already in pursuit.

His body glowed and something shifted and moved within him.

Something was happening to him and he didn't know what.

But it didn't matter.

This was a fight he couldn't allow himself to lose.

Nothing else mattered.

He had something to do; something he had to show Takato.

The thing he would create…!

_Takato…I'm sorry…for bringing Rinkmon here…for being weak…for almost betraying you…I am so, so sorry. But…please…watch me! Stand back and watch me! Support me for just a little while longer, Takato! I'll show it to you! You and I aren't going to die tonight, Takato! So…let me show you the future!_

**XxXXxX**

**ERRORS DETECTED**

**ALGORITHMS ONE THROUGH SEVEN HAVE CONFIRMED FLAWS**

'**ADULT FORM' CANNOT BE LOCATED**

**SEQUENCE CANNOT BE CONTINUED SAFELY**

**ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR ALGORITHMS**

…

**FAILED**

**ATTEMPTING TO HALT PROCESS**

…

**FAILED**

**MANUAL OVERRIDE ACTIVATED**

**EVOLUTION**

**XxXXxX**

Takato was standing in his room when Rinkmon arrived.

Rinkmon wasn't one for wasting time—unless he thought it would be amusing—so he just slit the boy's throat with his right blade without a second thought or a moment's hesitation.

Or _tried_ to, anyway.

It passed through the boys flesh as if through mere air and didn't leave a single wound.

Rinkmon's eyes narrowed beneath his mask.

"An illusion?" He wondered, though not to anyone specific. He tried again, just to be sure; delivering a backhand that would—and already had several times today—snap a human's neck. It too passed straight through.

"Close, but not quite."

Rinkmon whirled around so fast that he seemed to change the direction he was looking in without covering any of the space in between.

Another Takato was leaning against the wall.

One of the blades on Rinkmon's arms rake across the wall behind him after sliding through his throat.

Rinkmon frowned down at the boy he was now looming over.

"Not an illusion, hm? Then what are you, I wonder?"

A third Takato now stood behind Rinkmon. He held his arms out to each side.

"I'm a hologram." He—it—said.

The third disappeared and reappeared—or perhaps it was a fourth—in the center of the room, arms still outstretched.

He smiled at Rinkmon.

"It's cool, isn't it?" He asked. "My Digivice did it. The light show, too. That knight guy had a field day inside that thing, I swear."

Rinkmon didn't understand that last sentence, but it really wasn't important.

He wanted to kill this boy.

This boy had a way of hiding himself.

That was all he needed to know.

He thought about the situation for a moment.

If it _was_ a hologram, it had to be coming from _somewhere_. As such, the boy was probably nearby.

"Where are you?" He murmured scanning the room.

"I'm right here." A dozen voices replied.

He was now surrounded by false copies of the boy, all looking very casual. One was sprawled out on the bed, reading a fake book. Another sat by him, but upright, feet dangling off. A third sat with a back to the wall, looking at Rinkmon calmly. A fourth wasn't paying attention to him at all; instead, he was looking out the window. The rest were scattered around the room.

"Let's play a game, Rinkmon." Takato said in a dozen voices. "It's called Hide-and-Seek. You're it. Find me before Guilmon gets here, which will be…quite soon, I imagine, and you can take my life. But if you lose, Guilmon will get here and it will be the end of you."

Rinkmon snorted.

"You think I'm afraid of…Guilmon?" His chuckle became a laugh.

"Yeah." They said. "Or else, you wouldn't be here. You tried fighting Guilmon but he kept getting fast and fast and so you went running scared. You're afraid, because you've realized it; you can't beat Guilmon. So you went to find people weaker then you, so that you could pick on them. You're afraid, coward. You're afraid of Guilmon and you're even afraid of a human like me."

Rinkmon flushed.

"Your little pet is nothing to me. If he arrives, that just means you'll die together."

"Well, if that's true, run, run, run, as fast as you can. Maybe you'll even find me in time."

A new Takato flickered into existence right in front of Rinkmon and gazed into his eyes with a challenging smirk.

"Go."

Rinkmon tore through the entire house in a second—in more ways than one. His blades raked the walls, he upturned tables and chairs, and he tore open closets and tossed out their contents.

But he didn't find the boy. Not even holograms of him.

They were only in that one room.

Meaning…

He returned to the room mere moments after he'd left. It had been torn apart, too, of course, but to holograms hadn't moved an inch. The two that had been on the bed were now floating in midair; the one by the window peered through its shattered remains.

They took notice of him almost immediately.

"Back again, Rinkmon?" They asked.

"It appears I've lost." He said, amusedly. He'd gone along with the game for no other reason than because it had sounded amusing.

He'd won this battle the moment he walked through the door. He could create a storm, now, and it wouldn't matter what holograms this human was hiding behind.

It didn't matter how powerful 'Guilmon' was or could become; his Tamer would die at his whim, now.

But before that, he had something to tell this impudent little boy.

"As per your rules, I suppose this is the end of the handsome Rinkmon!" He continued, overdramatically.

He paused for a moment in silence and then chuckled.

"Ah, but where is my would-be executioner?" He asked, mirthfully.

The Takatos frowned at him.

"Do you know what we were talking about before your little display?" Rinkmon asked. "I made your partner an offer; your life for your city's. And you know what? He was considering it. You interrupted us before he could answer, but…what would he have chosen I wonder?"

There was mockery and scorn in Rinkmon's voice and his words were full of venom; his eyes were like daggers and his smirk full of nothing but teeth.

But they didn't impress Takato. They tilted their heads, some still not looking at him, and then they chuckled and spoke in unison.

"That's fine." They said, freezing Rinkmon in his tracks.

"W-what!" He demanded, recovering quickly but unable to stop a stutter.

"I said that's fine." They repeated. "Guilmon had a choice between me and thousands of innocent people and he wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't just throw away that many lives, but he couldn't just throw away mine, either."

The Takatos all looked at him, then.

"Do you think that's a betrayal, Rinkmon?" They wondered, smiling like they knew something he didn't. "That Guilmon's heart was too kind to make such a decision lightly? I wonder…Rinkmon, if you had a choice…between your life and every person in this city, what would you chose?"

"Mine." He answered, without hesitation.

They continued to smile at him, but now they were full of contempt.

"I know you would, Rinkmon. But Guilmon wouldn't. Even though he doesn't know the people of this city, he'd still give his life to protect them. And it's not even because of me; if he and I had never become partners, I truly feel that Guilmon would still make that choice. Because…he's Guilmon. And he's better then trash like you. I'm glad you told me that, Rinkmon; I have no doubts any more."

Rinkmon chuckled.

"For someone whose better, he's not here to save your life, is he?"

"He'll be here." They said with complete certainty. "He'll show up just in time to save the day, like a hero should."

"Oh, really?" Rinkmon asked with fake curiosity. "Let's test that theory, shall we? Quadruple Storm!"

The four tornados converged on Rinkmon, but it didn't matter; the entire room was affected. The torn remains of the room were picked up and flung around, the broken remains of the windows broke even further, the walls were smacked roughly with debris, and the ceiling…

_Flickered_.

A moment later, Takato lost his grip on the top of the shelf and was promptly smashed into the ground.

It hurt. A lot.

In fact, Takato was surprised nothing was broken. That was one of Rinkmon's strongest attacks, right?

The Digivice was right; he really _must_ be weak.

More than strong enough to kill a human, though; he'd proven that quite thoroughly.

The storm stopped the moment he touched the floor.

Takato took a moment to recover and then looked up at Rinkmon, who was gazing at the ceiling.

"A hologram?" He asked.

"You wouldn't know, since you've never been in my room, but my ceilings about two feet higher then I made it look." Takato explained. "While everyone was still distracted by the light, I ran down to my room, climbed onto the highest thing I could get on top of, and made a hologram to hid myself, since I knew you'd come here."

"Cute." Rinkmon admitted. "I didn't even think of the ceilings being fake."

"I know." Takato said, grinning.

Rinkmon rolled his eyes beneath his mask, but let that remark slide; he'd won and the boy was at his mercy now, so that plan he was so proud of didn't matter now.

"Now…where were we?" Rinkmon wondered. "Ah, yes. You said something about him showing up just in time, right?"

Rinkmon showed him the blades on his arms with a smirk.

"Well, it's now or never."

Rinkmon flickered towards Takato at a speed he could not hope to track.

But he didn't lay a hand on him.

Because in that moment, a giant fist literally punched through his bedroom wall and hit Rinkmon right in the face.

And most of the upper body, actually.

"Oh Yeah!" A thunderous voice cried.

A grin stretched across Takato's face.

He didn't even need to turn around.

He already knew who it was.

That hand and arm were too big, but…

There was only one person it could be.

He'd _done_ it! He'd distracted Rinkmon long enough!

"Welcome home." He said.

"Ah…Sorry I'm late." 'Guilmon' replied. "Traffic was a bitch."

Takato shook his head, back still to his partner.

He felt like laughing.

And crying.

"You're not late." He said instead. "The party's just getting started."

**XxXXxX**

Rinkmon bounced off the ground and crashed into the outer wall on the other side of the house and fell to the ground. He'd crashed through several other walls before hitting it, too. And a floor. He was now on the opposite side of the house and a level lower than the boy and his Digimon.

He laid there for a minute, one thought running through his mind.

_What the hell?_

He'd just gotten punched, obviously.

It had hurt, too, but that wasn't the point.

_There had been someone there to punch him._

If he thought about it logically, only one other person should know his exact location. And while there was always the possibility that someone he wasn't aware of had tracked him down and come after him, it was unlikely.

How many people would _notice _him, _care _about him, _and_ be able to _follow_ his speed?

It was a pretty short list, even in the Digital World.

In the Human World, it would be single digits _at best_, and probably just one.

In fact, he'd be pretty shocked if there was more than just one.

But…

That hit…

He'd already been punched by 'Guilmon' once, if that was the name of that strange Digimon. And it had hurt, but not as much as the one that had just hit him.

He pushed himself to his feet and shook off the dust and powder that had covered him when he'd hit the wall.

And the size of that fist…it had been the size of his _chest_.

It wasn't Guilmon's; he wasn't that big.

But Guilmon was the only one it could be, even if he was the only one who knew.

After all, he was a Digimon.

Evolution.

Shit.

It was a possibility, and a likely one at that.

Which was _really bad_.

Wait, he told himself, stop.

Level alone wasn't everything.

Guilmon was stronger than him physically, due to his mass change. Evolution making him bigger didn't matter; if he could touch him, he could eventually tear him apart.

Keyword being 'if.'

Rinkmon was weak, offensively.

He knew that better than anyone.

Generally speaking, it didn't matter.

If one of their hits was worth ten of his, it was fine as long as he hit them twenty times, right?

If Guilmon evolved, he'd be _bigger_ and _more powerful_, sure, but that didn't necessarily mean he would _win_.

When evolving, you gain new traits and powers, but you lose some as well.

He himself could evolve to the Perfect Level anytime he chose; he was powerful, even for a Rinkmon. He was one of Mercurymon's most trusted soldiers, after all. He simply chose not to evolve, because doing so held the risk of taking away his great speed.

If Guilmon had evolved, it went without saying that he would be stronger.

But was strength alone a virtue?

What had happened to his speed?

Rinkmon was at the doorway of the boy's room a moment later.

No one was there.

He frowned.

It was obvious where they went; there was a hole in the wall leading outside.

But…

Why?

It made more sense to stay inside; in the limited space of the house, it would be harder for him to move. The same was true of Guilmon, of course, but given the speed difference between them, slowing him down was probably the most important issue for him.

Not to mention that it was the boy's house, so he should have the advantage of knowing the territory. Though Rinkmon had already eliminated that advantage; he'd probably seen every inch of this house.

So if he was still taking him outside, then…

Rinkmon smiled.

So he was right.

It was possible that they simply didn't want to ruin this house, but that was extremely unlikely; the boy had drawn him here in the first place and he'd already torn the place apart. There really wasn't much left to save.

Then the most likely explanation was…

He was too big to fight in the house. The size of his fist supported that conclusion.

He was bigger than he had been before, as was usual for evolution.

Which meant…

He was probably _slower_, too.

Perfect.

**XxXXxX**

'Guilmon' set Takato down gently on the ground outside the house.

Even as he hurriedly sorted through the cards he'd grabbed, he spared Guilmon's new 'form' a worried glance.

Maybe it was his fault. He'd never gotten around to designing an Adult form. Maybe that was the reason…

It was like someone had peeled off Guilmon's skin; if there was a red framework beneath his skin, that is. He kept all the strange enhancement's Takato's card's had granted him and he was bigger now, too, but his shape…

It was like his body couldn't decide on one.

Before Takato's eyes, Guilmon's body flowed and lengthened, becoming lobster-like, though Takato thought he could still see draconic features—without any skin, it was hard to tell, though.

And for a moment, it seemed as if Guilmon would stay that way—zeroes and ones ran across the surface of Guilmon's flesh and it seemed, for a moment, that this was it. That this would be the form Guilmon chose.

And then a shape sound from his Digivice broke the moment.

Takato looked at its screen and it said this:

**Improper form selected. Evolution to Ebidramon failed.**

Guilmon's new form trembled for a moment, as if trying to fight what was to come, but his resistance failed and suddenly he snapped back to the form of Guilmon, though his skin did not return.

"You…"

Takato's head snapped around.

Rinkmon stood across the street.

Takato hadn't even seen him arrive.

"You…" Rinkmon's smile seemed to falter for a moment but then returned with interest. "Your constitutional data is failing?"

Rinkmon suddenly laughed.

"Oh, God, this is rich." He said, mirthfully. "When I came out here, I was expecting you to be so big and bulky that you stood no chance against me, but…this is even better! Your body can't even decide what shape it's supposed to be in and so you have none!"

His smile suddenly took a wicked turn.

"Without a body to protect you…I don't need to tell you how vulnerable you are, do I?"

Takato's eyes widened, but the battle was already on.

Guilmon's arms lengthened, even as his body tried to flow into that of a squid's, but Rinkmon lashed out with a fist and it sunk into his flesh.

There was a moment of silence before Guilmon gave a pained cry and—with another sound from his Digivice—shrank back into his own form.

Takato watched with panicked eyes as Rinkmon refused to let up.

It should have bounced off, Takato thought, fear now gripping his heart. Every other punch Rinkmon had delivered had just connected and done little.

But not now.

Now, Guilmon was being forced to dodge someone a hundred times faster than him.

…It was going as one would expect it too.

It made sense, Takato realized a moment later. If what Rinkmon said was true, Guilmon was fighting _skinless_, and everything his skin _should_ have protected was out in the open.

"Defense Plug-in C, Activate!" He cried, sweeping the first defensive card he found even as the two opponents were moved so fast that he could not even see them. A moment later, he found a much better card and slashed that, too. "Brave Shield, Activate!"

The battle came to a temporary halt a moment later, as Rinkmon slammed into the shield and bounced off of it.

Both the impact with the shield and the following one with the ground looked painful, Takato noted with satisfaction.

But he was surprised when Guilmon didn't press the advantage.

"Guilmon?" Takato asked worriedly, looking at him.

It was easy to see what the problem was. Even without his skin there to show the wounds, it was obvious that Guilmon had been badly beaten in the few seconds it had taken him to find the right cards.

Guilmon's body tried to grow into the form he recognized as Greymon, but another sound from his Digivice foretold the inevitable.

With a pained groan, 'Greymon' collapsed back into Guilmon.

"Guilmon, stop." Takato pleaded. "You're trying to evolve, right? You don't have too; you can win without evolving."

"No," Guilmon stated bluntly after a long moment of silence in which he tried to catch his breath. "I can't. I can barely keep up with him and eventually these cards are gonna run out. I have to end this as quickly as possible."

"Guilmon, at this rate, all you're going to end is yourself!"

Guilmon—the framework that had been Guilmon—panted for a moment and replied.

"I have to take that risk. You don't feel it, Takato; you can't. There's so much power, just out of reach. If I can just take a hold of it, then I could crush RInkmon and protect everyone. I just need to find my Adult form—any Adult form that works—_and I can win this_!"

But Guilmon, Takato wanted to say, _you have no Adult form_! I never gave you one!

But he caught his partner's 'eyes.' He saw something there—he wasn't sure what, but it convinced him.

He took a step back and nodded.

"Just…try to buy me some time, Guilmon." He said. "I'll find an Adult Form for you."

_Even if I have to make it myself._

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon could tell that Rinkmon was really getting tired of being thrown around.

He would have liked to mock him about it, but he'd taken a Hell of a lot worse and wasn't really in a position to.

"Okay, this is getting annoying," Rinkmon said, tilting his head to the side and cracking his neck.

He turned his head and more than anything else that had happened that night, that terrified Takato's partner.

Rinkmon wasn't even looking at Guilmon anymore.

He had eyes only for Takato, now.

If Guilmon had a heart, it would be thundering in his chest.

He supposed it was too much to hope for—that Rinkmon would show honor.

He'd known long ago that Rinkmon was a dishonorable bastard. And if he hadn't, he would have learned it quite thoroughly tonight.

Even worse, he was a smart bastard.

He knew that Guilmon was in no condition to fight. Nothing had changed with his attempt to evolve; he was still weaker than Rinkmon.

No—he was even weaker now.

But there was a variable in this equation.

The same one that had been there since the beginning.

Takato.

Even when he had been a Child Level against one of the faster Digimon in the Digital World, Takato had been able to even the odds, bit by bit, until he could, if nothing else, fight back. He'd closed a gap that had seemed unfathomable and made Guilmon believe—truly believe within his heart—that he could win this. That he could beat Rinkmon.

And now, even with Guilmon's constantly failing attempts to evolve properly, he was a source of danger to Rinkmon.

Guilmon was weak now, and easily hurt besides. Rinkmon should, in theory, be able to pick him apart. Hell—not 'in theory.' Rinkmon _had_ been picking him apart. It had been obvious that Guilmon would lose this fight and die; it had simply been a prolonged battle in order to reach that end.

But with Takato nearby, was that really the _only_ option?

No.

Not with Takato.

If he'd closed the gap between Guilmon and the relativistic Rinkmon, then closing this gap wouldn't be particularly hard for him, either. It might hurt, like it had before. And it might involve looking a bit freakish.

But Guilmon truly believed that Takato could let him win this.

And Rinkmon believed it too.

Today, the two of them had experienced firsthand, the power of a Tamer. It had been a painful and drawn-out lesson on both their parts, but they'd learned their lesson and taken it to heart.

And while the mere thought of what could happen next—what plans and powers would come to him from the mind and cards of his Tamer—brought joy and vicious excitement to Guilmon's heart…

It terrified Rinkmon.

Guilmon could see it, reading Rinkmon's face like an open book. He tried to hide it, but he couldn't.

Not anymore.

Had it been there earlier? Had it been fear that had driven Rinkmon from the park? Had he just been too blinded by his own fear to see it?

Maybe.

But it didn't matter.

All that matter was that, here and now, Rinkmon was afraid. Here and now, Rinkmon honestly feared for his life. He was afraid that Guilmon and his Tamer would finally make him pay for all his crimes—and they would, if Guilmon had anything to say about it.

But that fear drove him to action.

Like a cornered animal, Rinkmon would do anything to save his own life—and he hadn't had many limits to begin with.

Whether it had been fear or spite that had originally driven Rinkmon after his Tamer…

It was fear _now_.

He was afraid of Guilmon, even in this horribly weakened condition, but mainly, he was afraid of Takato.

And he would do anything to kill him now.

He would fight as if his life depended on it; and oh, how it did.

In a way, little had changed, between when Rinkmon first entered the city and now.

But there were wounds on Rinkmon now and a madness starting to consume his eyes and Takato was _so close_. So very, very close. Guilmon could hear him, smell him, _feel _his Tamer behind him.

He was so close to him and so close to Rinkmon's blades as well. It wouldn't take much; faster than the human eye could _hope_ to follow, in the space of an microscopic fraction of second, Rinkmon could cover the distance between them and those blades would split human flesh as they had so many times this night,

The thought would have made Guilmon's blood boil, if he'd had any.

He was the only thing that separated Takato and Rinkmon and he had to succeed in making things stay that way.

Succeed, even if he'd failed to stop Rinkmon so many times already.

Guilmon's nearly feral eyes met Rinkmon's and there was enough reason in them to fight, but nothing more. They held gazes for a moment.

And then Rinkmon twitched and they were off.

Guilmon bounded forward as his body lengthened and shifted into the form of Lighdramon. He leapt forward, taking across the grounds as a biped. It was a form of movement that was unfamiliar and yet it came naturally to him.

At a speed that could have outraced lightning bolts, he streaked across the street outside the ruin of Takato's house, diving into the way of Rinkmon as he tried to rush past him.

Guilmon knew that he held his Tamers fate in his hands.

And he knew that he wouldn't fail him while he did.

Guilmon knew that this was probably one of the fastest forms he was likely to 'evolve' into and fully intended to make use of it while he still could. Like Rinkmon, Lighdramon was an evolution originally caused by the Digimental of Friendship, only with V-mon rather than Hawkmon.

Of course, there was nothing to say that say that this Rinkmon had evolved from a Hawkmon.

But that wasn't the point.

The source of their power was originally the same. Rinkmon was faster naturally, but…

This form was nothing to sneeze at, either.

Rinkmon, not expecting to suddenly be fighting a Lighdramon, crashed into him.

Guilmon winced.

It hurt him at least as much as it had hurt Rinkmon.

Probably more.

It didn't matter.

This evolution could fade at any moment and he had no time to waste. He sank his claws into the street even as the collision sent him skidding back.

He pushed forward again almost as soon as he stopped.

He and Rinkmon fell into a mass of claws and blades a fraction of a second later. He tried to lay open Rinkmon's throat, but was blocked in an instant by a blade. Guilmon wrapped his fingers around the blade as much as Lightdramon's form would allow. He pressed himself against it with all his weight, even as it cut into his fingers. He twisted and lunged towards Rinkmon's face, mouth opened wide to show off his teeth.

Rinkmon flinched back before he could take a bite of him, but it accomplished its intended purpose.

With Rinkmon off balance, Guilmon gave a final push with all the force he could muster and manage to force Rinkmon to the ground. He pinned the blade he held to the ground, restricting Rinkmon's arm with it.

Rinkmon quickly tried to counter, lashing out with the blade on his other blade, aiming it to slit 'Lighdramon's' throat.

Guilmon managed to lower his head enough to hide his neck and caught the blade instead in his teeth.

Both blades were restrained.

Guilmon saw a chance and he took it, lifting his remaining forepaw with the intention of crushing Rinkmon's head.

Rinkmon thought fast, as he did all things. He quickly drew his legs to his chest before kicking at Guilmon's.

Rinkmon extended his legs as far as he could, even lifting his waist and lower back from the ground and all but standing on his upper back and neck.

'Lighdramon's' attack missed, of course, and he was forced to let go of the blades in his grasp as he was thrown away.

Now free, Rinkmon executed some complicated maneuver that began with a storm of upside-down motion and ended with him spinning like an ice-skater on his feet.

Wow, Guilmon couldn't help but think, you should enter dance competitions.

Then he caught himself complimenting his foe and added a belated '…in Hell!'

Skiding across the ground was getting old, but at least Guilmon was getting experience with recovering from them, so he stopped his motion quickly and skillfully.

He didn't waste time with self-admiration, though; he knew he was awesome.

Instead, he dove for Rinkmon's throat again, even though he knew he'd almost surely miss.

There was, after all, always the remote possibility that he _wouldn't_.

He did, however, as Rinkmon, apparently unaffected by what had just happened, smoothly leaned backwards and allowed Guilmon to fly over him.

He immediately straightened, not even looking at Guilmon.

Rinkmon knew that Guilmon wasn't his objective and he wouldn't allow himself to be distracted.

He'd kill him _after_ the human was dead.

And so his eyes sought out the boys face as he lifted a hand to initiate an attack that would end with the boy's death.

He wasn't able to finish the attempt before 'Fladramon' tackled him from behind.

When 'Lighdramon' had landed he hadn't even bothered turning around, aware that his partner's life was in danger and unwilling to waste any time while he was in danger.

He discarded Lighdramon despite its usefulness and began changing back into Guilmon. He didn't even wait to let himself finish before 'evolving' into another form. He never turned around; Guilmon just became taller and leaner, transforming into the shape of Fladramon.

But when he finish, he was facing the opposite direction and now faced Rinkmon's exposed back. He shifted his entire body to face different direction without moving and when he saw what Rinkmon was doing, he tackled him boldly and without a second thought.

They rolled to the ground in an undignified heap and immediately wrestled for dominance in a storm of blades and claws.

'Fladramon' tried to repeat his former feat and bind Rinkmon's limbs. This time, he'd know to keep an eye on his legs as well and wouldn't be caught by surprise again.

But the same trick wouldn't work on Rinkmon twice.

Now prepared, Rinkmon had rolled perfectly with the blow and brought up an arm in a instant. Even with his back to the ground and his body in midair, he didn't slow down in the slightest—as always, he was unbelievably, impossibly fast and he knew exactly how to use it.

The blow slammed into the side of Guilmon's head, sending stars across his vision. In that instant, Rinkmon was out from under him. He barely had time to realize that before another blow slammed down hard on the back of his neck and a rough kick slammed harshly into his side.

The breath was immediately forced out of him and he fell to all fours, even as Rinkmon continued to slam blow after blow into his side.

It was fine. As long as Rinkmon was wasting time with him, it was fine. It meant Takato had a chance to finish whatever he was doing and…he had a chance to put his plan in action.

He'd long since finished the piece of code he'd been working on, but…now wasn't the time to use it. He would probably only have one shot with it and he had to make it count—in his current form, even if he landed the hit successfully, it still probably wouldn't do what he wanted it too.

But he could adjust it easily to do something a bit differently.

His form was, at the moment, mercurial. And while that opened him up to attacks and made him weak, it did have certain advantages—such as surprise. Originally, his data had tried to form random chains in an attempt to 'lock on' to the proper evolution, or at least one that was acceptable. Each time, it failed, and it would continue to do so, because no such thing existed. Afterwards, his form had shifted back to 'Guilmon' as the code reverted back to its natural form before trying again.

With his knowledge of programming, he'd streamlined the process, allowing him to shift from form to form. He'd shifted into two forms, Fladramon and Lighdramon, due to their similarities in code, as both were evolutions of V-mon.

However…now he felt he could control the shift a little bit more. Maybe even completely, as long as he had knowledge of the proper code.

Oh, hey, look; it's the data of the Digimental of Friendship.

He'd used it before, as a test, shifting into Lighdramon by filling in the blacks of the Digimental's code with V-mon's, which was easy for him to remember.

But with some effort, he should be able to influence his next shift into another evolution related to the Digimental. He just needed to fill in a little bit of data to 'direct' the process.

After one more savage kick, Rinkmon turned away from his downed opponent, suppressing his anger violently to refocus his attention where it should be—on Takato.

And as he immediately dashed for the young Tamer, it was like the world slowed down before Guilmon's eyes.

It was not fear or dread that caused it, nor his mind playing tricks on him. From his point of view, it was like the world had really slowed down.

Just for a moment, he felt like he was back to himself again.

And so, as Rinkmon sped towards his Tamer, 'Rinkmon' rose behind him and chased quickly after.

Rinkmon noticed almost instantly, but at their speed, that 'almost' meant he was far too late.

His reaction to the sight of a skinless, red framework version of himself didn't help much—he froze at the sight, his eyes growing wide.

In truth, that fact was a blessing for Guilmon. Despite his form, he was not truly Rinkmon—he was a pile of links of code trying and failing to become Rinkmon. He could barely draw on a pale shadow of Rinkmon's power and only because he already possessed the date of the Digimental of Friendship.

Even with that, he could just barely draw on some of Rinkmon's speed. He couldn't use any of Rinkmon's attacks in this form, just like he couldn't use the powers of any other Digimon whose form he tried to take.

Even with all his speed enhancing cards in effect, he could only barely match Rinkmon's speed—and he had no way of knowing how long this transformation would last before he was forced to move on to the next one.

So, to him, Rinkmon's hesitation was a godsend. It only lasted a moment, but it was enough for Guilmon to catch up, despite his opponent's head start.

As soon as he caught up, he did something he would never get tired of doing.

He punched Rinkmon across the face.

And the moment he did, their battle resumed.

In that first second, hundreds of blows were exchanged. Each stepped back many times, trying to get either breathing room or a perspective on the battle, but it never lasted more than a microscopic fraction of a second before they were back at each other's throats.

At times, it almost seemed like they were dancing—a deadly dance to be sure, full of whirling blades and swinging fists—but a dance nonetheless. They skated around their battlefield, like Olympic Medalists trying to outdo each other. Their battle was not restricted just to the area in front of Takato's ruined home, for when Rinkmon tried to shift the battle to endanger Takato, Guilmon would always subtly turn it way, taking the battle up and down the street.

His tactic showed his faith, revealing it through his action. He was not hesitating, or withdrawing, or fearing for his life in the slightest. He backed off only when moving forward would put him in a bad position, and as soon as a new path opened, it was taken.

It was not the reckless assault of someone who thought he would die, but the action of a man who truly believed that as long as he moved forward, victory would always be possible.

At some point, along the way, he'd lost that. He didn't know where—maybe that one time it had seemed like it wasn't enough, when he'd lost to Mercurymon despite everything. And yet, here he was. Thanks to the actions of his friend, here he was.

He'd forgotten the aspect of himself that before he'd always clung too, and he was ashamed at that.

But he had it back now and he wouldn't lose it again.

He truly felt that he would win—that he could win—and he knew exactly how.

He believed in his Tamer.

He believed in Matsuda Takato.

His Tamer had promised him a miracle and he believed that Takato would deliver. He believed that as long as he bought Takato the time he needed, he would open up a path to victory and see him through.

But if you rush a miracle worker, you just get lousy miracles.

So he would put his life on the line to buy him the time he needed.

Even if it may have seemed foolhardy to attack a furiously as he did, it kept Rinkmon away from his Tamer for another second—and that was worth it.

In the next second, Rinkmon tried a different path of approach—and then another and another. He circled around the block, took shortcuts through alleys, made his own short cuts through houses—but each time, Guilmon appeared in his way.

In the next second, his strategy changed slightly. Rinkmon tried to lure him away from Takato each time he attacked and fell away, hoping to open a path to the Tamer, but it never worked. No matter what he tried, Guilmon stuck by his Tamer, always in motion, moving so fast he knew Takato couldn't possibly see him—but even so, he hovered over his friend like an invisible guardian angel.

Rinkmon then tried to hammer through his defenses, knowing his unprotected hide was his weakness. The attacks came a hundred times—a thousand times—directed towards his eyes, his head, his groin, his legs, and ever place Rinkmon knew would hurt. Guilmon couldn't stop him in a straight clash of powers, so each time, an arm or a blade slipped into the way of the attack, sliding it gently out of the way.

For Rinkmon, this was a battle of pride—a battle of who was the better Rinkmon. He had thought he would easily win, as he had far more experience at being Rinkmon. But Guilmon had more experience in general, and knew how to fight at speeds like this, even if he was in a different body.

But for Guilmon, it was just a fight for his Tamer's life. He fought as a Knight would to protect his Lord.

And he had decided he would do anything to protect his friend.

So when he felt his body start to shift again, he fought it with all his might. He prolonged his existence as 'Rinkmon' for as long as he could, until it began to become nearly painful to hold on.

Maybe it showed on his face, or in his movements, or in something else, but Rinkmon must have picked up on it somehow. In those next few moments, his assault increased dramatically, trying—and succeeding—in wearing down the transformation.

Whether it was the pain or relativity, those seconds felt like an eternity to Guilmon.

He slide aside a blade that would have gouged out his right eye, pushed away an attack that would have cut his thighs, pushed down a thrust that would have pushed a blade straight into his groin and tried to kick out with the blade on his left foot and turn the flow of the battle in his favor—but it wasn't meant to be.

Was he was slowing down?

Whether it was due to the transformation or exhaustion…he was.

He had to something. Now. He needed to buy a little more time.

But if he stayed on the defensive, Rinkmon would just continue to wear him down.

But would it help if he went on the offensive? Would he be able to accomplish anything?

…He had to try.

His transformation was about to fade and before it did, he had to try.

Rinkmon was a storm of blades, so…Guilmon became one, too. Putting the last second of his transformation into it, he clashed with all his might, hoping for another miracle.

Perhaps it came, when, during the clashing of a thousand blades and as many fists, he managed to slip a single punch past Rinkmon's defense. Noticing at the last, Rinkmon tried to dodge, but Guilmon still hit him in the shoulder.

Maybe that was the miracle.

But if it wasn't, what happened next definitely was.

Suddenly, Rinkmon's armor began to glitch. It flickered in and out of stability, as if near deletion.

With a gasp, Rinkmon retreated all the way down the street in a second, even as Guilmon shrank into his normal form.

It was only then that sound caught up with the pair.

"—Armor Pause! Activate!" Takato cried.

'Hell yeah, Takato,' Guilmon thought.

He understood the effect of the card almost immediately. It uploaded a virus in an enemy Armor Digimon, disrupting their evolution in the hopes of returning them to their lower leveled forms.

In the card game, it was a perfect effect, unless countered. Once played, the opponent would immediately revert to their Child level form and that would be the end of that.

In Reality, things were not so simple.

Things weren't as simply as 'work' or 'doesn't work.' The results were dependent on a number of factors; the power of everyone involved, their skill with code, the amount of time they had, the stress of the situation, etc. Otherwise, there was probably a card out there that let you automatically win the battle or devolve your opponent to Child or something, and it would pretty much make whoever had it God.

On the bright side, Guilmon was very skilled with writing Digital Code. Even as the remains of two former Royal Knights, he was one of the best around, combining, at least, a shadow of Dukemon's skill with a shadow of UlforceV-dramon's speed.

Rinkmon couldn't beat him in that department.

But he hopelessly outmatched him in most others, at the moment. He was stronger, faster, and of a higher level.

But, again, things weren't as simple as that. While Rinkmon's natural firewalls and anti-viruses were enough to keep him for actually reverting to a lower level, it wasn't enough to truly ignore the effect—even now, the virus was playing havoc with Rinkmon's systems.

The term 'Armor Digimon' was somewhat misleading. He wasn't truly wearing 'Armor;' or rather, his armor was a part of his body. In addition, the body 'beneath' the armor was itself a part of the armor—Fladramon was not simply a V-mon in a fire-themed armor, for example. An Armor Digimon's entire form could be considered their 'Armor,' so what was being torn apart at the moment was Rinkmon himself.

Even so, Rinkmon was quickly trying to counter the problems in his system, and slowly succeeding. His armor still fluctuated, but it would be only seconds until he recovered.

Guilmon did the obvious thing and attempted to approach, hoping to use his opponent's weakness to win, but as soon as he began moving, Rinkmon backed up twice that distance.

Understanding, Guilmon stopped.

As expected, Rinkmon was pragmatic. He wasn't going to try and fight through his weakness; he'd simply wait at a distance until he'd fixed himself. He'd stay close enough to view whatever was happening, however, not wanting to be surprised.

But Guilmon would never be able to get close enough to hurt him without Rinkmon coming to _him_. Rinkmon was moving slower, now, but it didn't matter. Even if he was at a tenth of his normal speed, he was still ten times faster than Guilmon.

And as soon as he fixed his problems, he'd go right back to his full speed.

Then…what was the point of this Takato?

"Get ready, Guilmon; this is it!" His Tamer said, ignorant of his questions. In the distance, Rinkmon tensed wearily. "Full Charge! Holy Healing! Ultimate Recovery! Activate!"

In an instant, the cards began to take effect, healing all the damage that Rinkmon had done to his skinless hide, bolstering his already powerful healing abilities. In moments, he was recovered—but it didn't matter. In moments, Rinkmon would be as well and they'd be right back where they started—with Rinkmon ripping him to pieces.

All this had done was reset the battle.

But even so, Guilmon believed Takato had a plan—and his faith was rewarded by his Tamer's next words.

"Are you ready, Guilmon? Because I'm _done_! Aim for the Strongest Evolution! Activate!" He said, slashing one more card.

In that moment, everything that was wrong became right. His systems realigned and corrected all errors, easily finding an answer that hadn't been there before Takato had created one for him. Power filled him, along with a bottomless joy and anticipation, and he knew exactly was it meant.

He was evolving.

His framework shifted and expanded, no longer uncertain in its path. His limbs lengthened, as did his teeth and claws. He felt hair begin to sprout from his scalp, as bladelike growths began to extend from his arms.

And then, best of all, tough, armor-like skin began to grow around him, finishing the picture. His body was colored red and black and his hair a stark white.

He snorted plumes of smoke from his nostrils and narrowed his eyes at Rinkmon. Even though he hadn't moved a step, Rinkmon took a nervous step back.

Suddenly, Guilmon shuddered, his body bulging in strange places—his arms, his neck, and his back, mainly—as the 'enhancements' caused by the cards began to add themselves to his new form. For a moment, he thought they would tear there way out of his flesh again, but just as they seemed ready to do so, they slide smoothly through instead.

"Are you ready, Growmon?" Takato asked, naming his new creation. At his words, that name carved itself into his partner's data and suddenly became so obvious to Guilmon's mind that he wondered how he hadn't known it before.

He nodded to his partner's question, narrowing his eyes.

He exhaled a sudden burst of flame, more as a distraction than anything else. At their speed, it burnt through the air so slowly that a tall candle could have melted fully before it reached Rinkmon—well, if a candle could burn normally from their perspective.

But even at speeds like theirs, a sudden burst of flame could be distracting and distractions could still be dangerous.

Growmon covered the distance that separated him and Rinkmon in a blur of red and black. The blades on his arms had extended and begun to glow an electric blue—unlike the fire, they were actually part of his body, and would move as fast as he could swing his arms.

But even distracted, Rinkmon was on the lookout for attacks, due to his weakened state, and immediately retreated at the sight of Growmon's approach.

Rinkmon may have had only a tenth on his normal speed and Growmon, whether because of something Takato had included in his design or because he was now able to draw on more of his former power in his new form, could at least match that, but a hundred meter head start wasn't something that could be removed that easily—especially when Rinkmon now had a tremendous desire to stay away from him. They both knew that Rinkmon was in trouble. They were now in the same ballpark, speed-wise, but it was obvious who was the more powerful—if he could land a single, solid attack, he was fairly sure he could kill Rinkmon.

So Rinkmon had no intention of letting him land that attack.

But he had to end this, soon. He had Rinkmon backed into a corner at the moment and he had to kill him quickly, before he had a chance to recover his speed—last time Rinkmon had been backed into a corner, his solution was to kill hundreds of innocent people; he knows what he might try to do, now?

Best case scenario, he'd run away and get away with his crimes.

More likely, he'd start involving innocent people again and taking hostages. Growmon may have been able to keep him away from Takato, but they were in the middle of a city full of innocent men, women, and children—he couldn't protect them all.

This had to end, here and now.

But by the time Growmon had reached the place he'd been and swung a plasma coated blade through the space he'd occupied, he was on the sidewalk in front of the red colored building down the street. By the time his fist had crushed the side walk an instant later, Rinkmon had backed up to a telephone pole nearly a block away, which Growmon immediately chopped down, missing his opponent completely.

The pattern continued from there, Rinkmon dodging leaving Growmon to wreak havoc wherever he had stood. Growmon was wise enough to avoid harming any of the buildings where people might have lived, but there were destroying this street. Every light and telephone pole had fallen, claws and blades had left gouges in the streets and walls, and the surface of the road had long since been reduced to rubble.

Tearing a mass of the street out of the ground, he chucked it at Rinkmon in frustration, knowing it had no chance of hitting. Absently flickering back to his Tamer's side, he batted away the shrapnel that was falling towards him 'slowly,' which could have torn him apart.

He couldn't catch up to Rinkmon like this. To do that, he'd need Takato's help, but therein lay the problem.

All through the fight, Takato had been making him faster and faster, in order to compete with Rinkmon's speed. But his Tamer wasn't sped up with him, which had caused more and more delays in his reaction times, from Growmon's perspective. Hours of combat could—and had—been fit into the time Takato needed to choose and swipe a single card.

Why, right now, he was in the process of slashing a card, but in Growmon's eyes, he was a statue—

And then Growmon's eyes caught glimpse of the card in his Tamer's hand.

Ah.

Of course, he wasn't the only one to realize that problem—naturally, Takato was even more aware of it then he was.

And he'd solved it the only way he could—he had planned all his moves in advanced.

Growmon's eyes flickered over his Tamer's other cards in an instant and he understood what Takato had planned. Naturally, Takato wasn't fast enough to communicate his plan to Growmon, so he had operated under the hope that his partner would be able to figure it out on his own.

And Growmon thought that maybe he had. And with that knowledge…it was obvious what he had to do.

He had to adapt his own strategies to make the plan work.

Pursuing Rinkmon was futile and, thanks to Takato's plan, unnecessary. As such, it was a better idea to simply stand guard over his Tamer, just in case, so Growmon did.

Rinkmon watched him silently for a moment, expecting a trap or another sudden attack that was sure to fail—but it never came. Growmon just huddled around his Tamer, ready to spring to his defense in an instant, if needed, but unwilling to move otherwise.

Surprisingly, this complete lack of action unnerved Rinkmon more than any amount of deadly attacks, because the predatory gleam that promised death never left Growmon's golden eyes.

But even so, Rinkmon silently continued to repair the damaged areas of his own data, for that was all he could do. No matter what happened, he would rely on his speed to see him through it, as he always did.

For his part, Takato surely must have noticed his partner looming over him—but to his credit, he didn't waste even a moment acknowledging him and swept the card.

From Growmon's perspective, it had taken ages from that card to slide through his Tamer's D-Arc, though from Takato's, it had happened in a second.

But either way, it was definitely worth it.

"Common Switch, Activate!" Takato said, but nobody heard. His Partner was long gone and by the time his voice reached him, both he and Rinkmon would be moving far too fast to perceive sound meaningfully.

The purpose of 'Common Switch' was simple: It switched Growmon's location.

One moment, he curled protectively around his Tamer.

The next, he was right in Rinkmon's face.

Even as Rinkmon's movements were paralyzed by surprise, Growmon swept a glowing blue blade down like an executioner's ax. Recovering in an instant thanks to his training and experience, Rinkmon tried to dodge—but his movements were slowed by Armor Pause.

By some miracle, he managed to avoid dying—but Growmon's plasma-like blade opened a deep wound from shoulder to waist.

Growmon was moving too fast to hear sounds effectively, just as Rinkmon was moving too fast to speak in any way that could be understood.

Otherwise, Growmon and Takato would both have been able to hear him scream.

While a bit disappointed about that, Growmon knew better than to not follow up while he had the chance. He continued to lash out in a storm of plasma blades. Rinkmon dodged as well as he could, but they were equally matched in speed at the moment and Rinkmon no longer had the advantage of distance to protect him. He used his smaller size as best he could, but glancing blows still made it through to cut at his flesh.

If things stayed like this, Rinkmon would die before long. Even if he could completely dodge ninety-nine out of a hundred attacks—which he couldn't—the one that remained would still hit him and they were moving so fast that a lot of attacks would hit him every second. He couldn't even counterattack—well, he could, but this new form had been keyed towards preventing damage and Rinkmon's attacks would probably just bounce right off of him.

Then, the only variable was whether or not Rinkmon could regain his speed.

—But even if he did, it wouldn't matter. He and Takato had prepared for even that. As long has he could at least drag this on long enough to let Takato slash those next two cards, then it wouldn't matter whether Rinkmon regained his former speed. He'd long since finished the code he'd been working on, so all the pieces were already in place.

Rinkmon had already lost this fight.

He just didn't know it yet.

Growmon began aiming slashes at Rinkmon's legs as he knew he was running out of time. Several seconds had passed since he'd first used Armor Pause, and he was surprised that Rinkmon hadn't countered it already, but at this point, it was probably just a matter of moments.

Even if it probably didn't matter, if he could score a few wounds on Rinkmon's legs, it would do nothing but help.

And also…

For their plan to work, he needed to buy his Tamer a second or two of 'normal' time to slash another card. Preferably, two cards.

Each of his blazing hot blades sheered through space at relativistic speeds, blows falling like rain.

Sometimes, he pushed forward, hammering down on his opponent with all his might, raging like a storm, yet tightly controlled, making each blow count.

Sometimes, he fell back, just a step, before sliding forth a blow with unbelievable speed, sliding his blades in at angles that should have been nearly impossible to strike from, or extending a blade past Rinkmon to pull it back like a scythe, trying to remove entire limbs.

He swung his blades forward, pulled away to strike with the back, and even used them as spikes, drawing from his knowledge of battle to use the weapons in any way that could give him an advantage.

And in the end, Rinkmon realized something.

If he wanted to survive, then he would have to attack. Even though his opponent could match him in speed and was superior in all other ways, if he wanted to survive until his speed returned, he had to do more then be pushed back—he couldn't retreat from this opponent, so he had to advance.

So he did.

As he moved back to avoid a fatal blow from Growmon's blades, he turned the step into a speed that could have left lightning feeling slow.

"—Spinning Cutter."

He put his all into it, releasing a multitude of blue lasers and a massive gust of wind. But long before the wind got, the much faster lasers burnt through the space separating him from his opponent, slamming into his chest with surprising force.

Even if he was slower, the speed of his attacks hadn't changed. They probably didn't hurt his opponent—much—but Rinkmon was sure, down to the core, of his being, that Growmon hadn't expected him to suddenly stop retreating.

And Rinkmon was right. Having fought him before as an Ultimate, against whom Rinkmon had no hope of even attempting mount a defense, much less an attack, Growmon had seen Rinkmon as someone who's fight or flight instinct was set purely to the latter.

But Takato hadn't seen that fight. He didn't know how Rinkmon had acted against a much stronger and faster opponent many years in the past.

All he'd seen was the Rinkmon here and now. And all he knew was that he and Guilmon had been pushed deep into a corner—and had come out swinging.

And he had prepared for Rinkmon to do the same.

And so, just like that, Rinkmon began to sink into the grave Takato had dug for him.

"Counterattack, Activate!" Takato had said, a second before or hours, depending on who was asked, though no one could hear his words in the first place.

One moment, the attack had taken Growmon by surprise. Striking him in the chest, he had fallen a step back with widened eyes, and Rinkmon was already taking advantage of it, rushing forward in the hopes of changing the tide of the battle.

And the next moment, things were completely different. Growmon was back on his feet, an arm raised but sweeping down towards Rinkmon, who was too slow to hope to dodge.

There was time between these moments. Growmon had not covered the space between those two positions—he had simple been in one place, and then the other. It was like a movie had skipped a few seconds ahead, but Growmon was the only one the change places.

In that moment, Rinkmon truly though he was going to die.

But then, a program finished executing and the last of the errors in his system were repaired.

In a fraction of a second, he was leaning back and the suddenly sluggish blade passed slowly in front of him.

For a second, Rinkmon thought he was safe and was preparing himself to finish things.

But in truth, all he was doing was falling deeper in the trap that was closing around him.

"—Consecutive Attacks, Activate!" Takato had said, just seconds before, to unhearing ears.

It was like Growmon rewound. Again, he was standing, blade sweeping down, though now with a differently angled attack. If Rinkmon had a heart, it would have skipped a beat.

But it didn't matter, he thought, calming himself in an instant. Another attack didn't matter at all, since it was still moving so sluggishly.

He began to take a step back—and in that moment, he hit the bottom, as a program finished executing.

Where did Rinkmon's speed come from? Not 'how did it work'—he knew the answer to that—but where had his ability to move so fast come from.

The original Rinkmon was a result of Hawkmon evolving with the Digimental of Friendship. His speed could not have come wholly from Hawkmon, for Hawkmon was not particularly fast. And yet, it could not have come wholly from the Digimental, for not all Armor Digimon that came from it could boast of such speed.

No…that speed came, without a doubt, from the combination for both Digimon and Digimental. Somewhere, in the code resulting from Hawkmon evolving with the Digimental of Friendship, was the data that allowed from Rinkmon's speed.

And within Guilmon was the data of the 'Digimental of Friendship.' In which, to puzzle out the truth behind 'Rinkmon,' all he needed was the data of 'Hawkmon.' He had no such thing, sadly, but…if given time, he could figure out how to make the code work based of the results of different codes.

And he'd had all the time in the world.

From his perspective, how long had this fight been? How many days? Or had it been weeks? Months?

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he'd had the time and he'd made it work.

The algorithm that gave Rinkmon his speed? Right now, it was inside Growmon, too.

It wasn't perfect—well, the code was, or close to it, but it wouldn't run perfectly. It was a code meant for 'Rinkmon'—naturally, it would run differently if used by Growmon. They were basically two vastly different programs—even if they were commanded to perform the same operation, there would be differences between the two. He was running a program meant for something else.

For him, making full use of the program was impossible. He'd never be able to go from normal speed to ninety-eight percent the speed of light.

But, if it was simply to make him move ten times faster, that was still possible.

In that instant, Rinkmon and Growmon were suddenly the same speed.

And that blade…it went without saying that Rinkmon had no hope of dodging.

And just like that, it was over.

Rinkmon's back hit the ground. A moment later, his legs hit it as well, before exploding into data, which Growmon swiftly absorbed.

"Gah…kuh…" Rinkmon tried to speak and failed.

But if he had been able to…what would he have said?

Would he have cursed his opponent?

Growmon no longer cared what he had to say.

Would he have begged for mercy?

Growmon's eyes made it obvious that he had none to give.

Rinkmon could say nothing, but in the end, there was also nothing he would say.

Growmon loomed over his fallen opponent, golden eyes focused and sharp.

"I hope you don't believe I'm going to let you live after everything you've done." Growmon said, grabbing Rinkmon in one mighty hand and lifting him from the ground. His grip was painfully tight, to the point that if Rinkmon had been a human, he would have coughed up blood at the force of it.

Growmon raised him to eye level while Rinkmon could do nothing but glare in one final act of defiance.

"I can't think of any way that I could make you suffer enough for everything you've done—and even if I could, I probably wouldn't have the time to do it. So thank your Olympians for getting such a light punishment as this."

And with that, Growmon exhaled in a slow sigh, breathing out a small cloud of fire that covered both Rinkmon and his hand.

The flame danced gently across his scales—he felt nothing but a soothing warmth from the flames.

Rinkmon, however, immediately caught flame.

Even if he hadn't had the power to speak, he apparently still had enough to scream. Growmon watched dispassionately as Rinkmon began to burn alive, his eyes already distant.

Rinkmon was already dead to him, even if he continued to scream. As such, Growmon was already thinking about what he would do next, and truthfully…the future troubled him.

It was only after Rinkmon released a final scream and burst into data that Takato began to approach. Growmon focused on him completely, even as he loaded Rinkmon's data, because there was simply something about Takato's eyes…

Without a doubt, they were completely focused on Growmon. And the look in them…

_He knew._

"What now?" Takato asked, though he sounded like he already knew the answer.

Growmon forced himself not to look away. The enhancement's Takato had given him had finally begun to fade, receding smoothly into his skin.

"…I thank you, Takato. For everything. If not for you, I wouldn't be here—"

In more ways then one.

"And I never would have been able to beat Rinkmon. But now…"

"You have to go back to the Digital World." Takato stated.

"I can't stay here," Growmon tried to explain. "If I do, more Digimon will be sent after me and more innocent people will get hurt. Maybe even you, Takato. So I have to go back."

Takato nodded.

"I know." He said. "So…when do we leave?"

"…What?"

"…I know you have to leave. I can even understand why and accept it. But…did you think for a second that I'd let you go without me?"

"Takato, you can't do that." Growmon said firmly.

Takato ignored him completely, quietly gathering up his cards.

"You'll be in danger if you go," He tried.

That got the Tamer's attention, and he turned around with a glare.

"And you'll _die_ if I don't!" Takato all but shouted.

Growmon opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't think of anything to say.

It was true, after all.

He'd won against Rinkmon because of Takato and his cards. If he had to fight Mercurymon's forces alone, he'd surely die.

But even with the power his Tamer could give him, if he had to fight Mercurymon, they would both die.

"…Are you that eager to leave, Takato?"

The Tamer looked at the ground.

"Of course not. I wish we could both stay here together and never have to worry about fighting. But…more than anything else…I am your Tamer. And I can't just let you do this alone, right?"

"And what if I just go alone?" Growmon challenged.

"Then I'll follow you into the Digital World." Takato stated quietly, but his resolve was clear. "Even if it puts me in danger, I won't let you die. And besides…do you even know how to get to the Digital World?"

Growmon winced at that, but quickly recovered.

"I'll find a way," He claimed.

"I'm sure you will," Takato smiled, showing that he didn't doubt his partner's words for a second. "But you're the one in a hurry, right?"

"And you have a way to the Digital World?" Growmon asked, attempting to appear dubious.

It largely failed, because the boy in front of him had just given him the power to match Rinkmon.

"Of course I do." Takato said. "So…are we gonna do this or not?"

Growmon stared at him for a long moment.

And then he laughed. Uproarious, uncontrollable laughter that seemed natural to him, though Takato had never heard him laugh like this before.

Calming in flash, he nodded.

"Are you sure about this, Takato?"

"I've never been surer about anything in my entire life."

"Then lead the way."

Takato smiled and drew a single card.

He glanced one last time at his house—the ruins of his house, really. For a moment, he closed his eyes.

I'll be back, he promised.

And then he swept the card.

"—Dimension Crossing Hero, Activate!"

**XxXXxX**

Minervamon closed her eyes in annoyance.

"I've already told you what happened," She said, doing her best to keep her tone diplomatic.

She was annoyed, but it was important to be diplomatic—or, at least, to seem like they were all diplomatic. That was one of the unspoken rules of the Olympus Twelve. As an organization that could rival even the mighty Royal Knights, it was important they stay on good terms with each other, less someone find a way to turn them against one another.

If things degenerated, the other Olympians would get involved, which she didn't want to happen.

"And I'm telling you it's a lie." Mercurymon growled, apparently not feeling any need to do the same.

Minervamon could not fault him for his impatience. She could understand why he was unnerved by what was happening—and given his speed, who knows how long he'd already waited, from his own perspective.

So she decided to take the higher road and repeat herself.

"I pursued Dukemon while you were recovering from your battle and killed both him and the injured UlforceV-dramon. Whether you believe that I killed them or not, I'm sure you are well away their neither of them were ever seen again."

"You still expect me to believe that, Minervamon? Even when I can sense him so clearly!" Mercurymon demanded.

If it was meant to shake Minervamon, it failed. Her usually childish expression was a carefully constructed mask of boredom. This situation was as unnerving for her as it was for Mercurymon, if for somewhat different reasons.

"I fail to see what that had to do with my report," She replied, her feelings completely hidden. "If I remember correctly, you assured me that the virus you had had infected him with would keep UlforceV-dramon from reforming, even as a Digitama."

Mercurymon snarled.

"Don't you think I know that! Dukemon must have done something!"

"I'm afraid that I wouldn't know. And we can't ask him, either—because he was nothing but data when I left." Minervamon stated firmly. It was easy to do, because it was actually true. "The only question is what do we do now?"

Mercurymon's emotions had apparently calmed—though when exactly that had happened, she had no idea. After all, he moved and thought so fast, keeping up with them with complete accuracy was impossible, even for her.

"I've already sent Rinkmon after him. By now, he should already be dead." He said, apparently believing those words.

Minervamon wasn't sure how feel about those words.

On one hand, Rinkmon had been sent, which could ruin everything.

But on the other hand…

"Are you sure, brother? Because I don't sense Rinkmon at all—and UlforceV-dramon's presence has done nothing but grow." She said.

Mercury paled almost instantly, though she only caught a glimpse of the expression as it shifted just as quickly through shock, rage, and finally settled on disgust.

"Rinkmon!" He spat. "I can't believe you managed to screw this up!"

"He was humiliated by UlforceV-dramon in the past," His sister pointed out. "He probably lost his temper and acted stupidly. I admit he'd a good choice if you look at his powers alone, but…you should have sent someone more levelheaded."

She chided her brother, knowing it would anger him and that anger would be directed towards Rinkmon. While he was distracted, she could gain control over her own emotions, as well as the situation.

Sure enough, Mercurymon took the bait.

"That stupid little—He better hope he got deleted! If I see him again, I'm going to crush him!"

"I can't be helped now," Minervamon said, sighing as she stood. "Perhaps this is a situation where leveler heads will prevail. I shall send some of my own forces to deal with him. The Southern Quadrant…"

She nodded to herself, purely for show.

"Witchmon and Wizarmon should be able to pierce the barrier between worlds. Shall I send them brother? Opening a gate large enough to send Rapidmon or one of your other Servants may take some time."

This was a fortunate turn of events. Getting a Perfect level Digimon into the real world was much more difficult than getting an Adult or Child through. If Rinkmon had died, Mercurymon would continue to send his forces through, even if someone who had defeated Rinkmon could buy some time.

But she was well aware of the type of things Mercurymon's men were capable of doing. If she could convince him to wait until sending a more powerful Digimon, it would save lives on both sides.

Mercurymon opened his mouth, but his reply never came.

As one, the siblings shifted their eyes to the South as the Dimensional Boundary shook as something tore through it—from the opposite side.

That…without a doubt, someone had entered the Southern Quadrant from the Human World by simply brute forcing the boundary.

And their senses made it obvious who it was.

"Hmph. Hiding in Zhuqaiomon's realm?" Mercurymon spat. "I hope you don't think that's enough to save you, you bastard! What should we do, Minervamon?"

His sister didn't reply.

"…Minervamon?" He asked, frowning.

Again, she didn't say a word.

No…rather, she couldn't say anything. In that moment, she was truly speechless.

Her emotions raced so fast that, for a moment, she thought she could understand what her brother felt like all the time.

Annoyance at how her plans were destroyed before they could even begin—but that guy had never followed anyone's plans, had he?

Anger, not at anything in particular, but simply at how things were developing, far beyond her control.

Fear, partially for herself, but mainly for the one who was now in so much danger.

Pain, sorrow, guilt, melancholy, despair, and hope race through her mind as she remembered what had happened in the past.

So many feelings threatened to overwhelm her as she stared towards the South. But in the end, the one that came out on time was a quiet, simple happiness.

'_Welcome home, my love.'_


End file.
